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LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School

1974

Applied Tape Techniques for Use With ElectronicMusic Synthesizers.Robert Bruce GreenleafLouisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

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Recommended CitationGreenleaf, Robert Bruce, "Applied Tape Techniques for Use With Electronic Music Synthesizers." (1974). LSU Historical Dissertationsand Theses. 8157.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/8157

A p p l ie d tape techniques for use withELECTRONIC MUSIC SYNTHESIZERS/

A Monograph

S ubm itted to th e G raduate F a c u lty o f th e L o u is ia n a S ta te U n iv e rs ity and

A g r ic u l tu r a l and M echanical C ollege in p a r t i a l f u l f i l lm e n t o f th e

D octor of M usical A rts

In

The School o f Music

byR obert Bruce G reen lea f

M.M., Louisiana S ta te U n iv e r s i ty , 1972 A ugust, 19714-

UMI Number: DP69544

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, 1

MANUSCRIPT THESES

Unpublished theses submitted for the Master's and Doctor's

Degrees and deposited in the Louisiana State University Library

are available for inspection. Use of any thesis is limited by

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LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

TABLE OP CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................... X

I . BASIC TAPING INFORMATION ................... 2

R ecording T a p e ................................... 2Tape Decks ................................ . . . . . 6R ecord ing , P layback , andE ra s in g P rocedures ................................ . 20

I I . OVERDUBBING TECHNIQUES . . . . . . . . 26

I I I . TECHNIQUES FOR EDITING, SPLICING,AND SPECIAL E F F E C T S .......................... 37

E d itin g and S p lic in g Techniques • . 37T echniques f o r S p e c ia l E f fe c ts . . .

IV. TECHNIQUES FOR THE SPATIAL PLACEMENTAND MOVEMENT OF MUSICAL MATERIALS . . 52

F a c to rs In v o lv in g th e S p a t ia l P lacem ent and Movementof M usical M a te r ia ls . . . . . . . . 52The S p a t ia l Placem ent and Movementof M usical M a te r ia ls D uringth e Recording P r o c e s s ................. 55

V. SUMMARY.......................... 59

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................... 60

11

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS

F ig u re Page

1* Examples o f s o l id and NAB hub r e e l s • • . k

2 . Diagram o f th e supp ly and tak e up r e e l s ,ta p e h e a d s , c a p s ta n , c a p s ta n r o l l e r , and t a p e * l i f t e r s .................................................. 8

3* E ra se , r e c o rd , and p layback headsin norm al o r d e r ............................................. . . 12

Ij.. D if fe re n t head and head s ta c k fo rm ats . • 13

5 . Two channels reco rd ed in o p p o s ited i r e c t io n s , u s in g th e h a l f - t r a c k monophonic ta p e head f o r m a t ............................ 11+

6 . Two s e ts of ch an n els reco rd ed in o p p o s ite d i r e c t i o n s , u s in g th e q u a r te r - t r a c ks te r e o ta p e head form at ................................ 15

7 . Example o f a VU m eter • • • • • • . . • . 18

8 . The sy n c h ro n iz a tio n o f seven s e t s o fm u sica l m a te r ia ls on fo u r t r a c k s • . . • 33

9* The sy n c h ro n iz a tio n of e ig h t s e t s o fm u sica l m a te r ia ls u s in g b o th a quadraphonic and a s te re o ta p e deck . • . 31+

10. Three s p l i c e s h av in g d i f f e r e n ts p l ic in g ta p e w id ths o r trim m ings . . . . 1+3

11. O ffse t e d i t m arking . • • • • • • • . • . I4.3

12. Diagrams showing id e a l l i s t e n e r placem entf o r two and fo u r channel p layback . . . . 53

13. Four channels a c tin g as p a i r s to cover a360 degree area ............................... • 55

i l l

ABSTRACT

T his monograph p re s e n ts in fo rm a tio n th a t d e a ls w ith

m u sica l m a te r ia ls reco rd ed on tape* I t d e s c r ib e s a number

o f ta p in g te c h n iq u e s in c lu d in g overdubb ing , e d i t in g ,

s p l i c in g , and s p e c ia l e f f e c t s . I t a ls o examines te c h n iq u e s

f o r th e s p a t i a l p lacem ent and movement o f sound. I t f u r th e r

in c lu d e s in fo rm a tio n about re c o rd in g ta p e and ta p e decks, a s

w e ll a s a d e s c r ip t io n of rud im en tary r e c o rd in g , p lay b ack ,

and e ra s in g p ro c e d u re s . The te ch n iq u e s d e sc r ib e d a re l im ite d

to th o se which a re p o s s ib le u s in g a h a l f - t r a c k o r q u a r te r -

t r a c k s te r e o tap e deck and a q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic ta p e

deck w ith s e p a ra te re c o rd and p layback heads and s e le c t iv e

sy n ch ro n l z a t io n •

The overdubbing te ch n iq u e s d e s c r ib e d In c lu d e so u n d -o v er-

sound, sound-w lth -sound , sound-on-sound , and s e le c t iv e syn­

c h ro n iz a t io n . The s p e c ia l e f f e c t s d e sc r ib e d in c lu d e sound

r e v e r s a l , channel r e v e r s a l , ta p e r e v e r s a l , m agnetic p a r t i c l e

rem oval, th e u se o f d i f f e r e n t ta p e sp eed s , ta p e echo , and ta p e

lo o p s . The te c h n iq u e s f o r th e s p a t i a l p lacem ent and movement

of sound a re l im ite d to th o se e f f e c t s which a re p o s s ib le u s in g

o n ly a quadraphonic ta p e deck w ith o u t e x te rn a l m ixing o r pan­

n in g d e v ic e s . However, th e re i s a ls o a b r i e f d is c u s s io n of

o th e r f a c to r s b e s id e s ta p in g p ro ced u res th a t a re Invo lved in

th e s p a t i a l p lacem ent and movement of sound.

iv

INTRODUCTION

T h is monograph c o n ta in s ta p in g in fo rm a tio n and te c h ­

n iq u es w hich a re u s e f u l in p roducing e le c t r o n ic m usic . I t

i s l im i te d to th o se te c h n iq u e s which a re p o s s ib le u s in g a t

l e a s t one open r e e l h a l f - t r a c k o r q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o ta p e

deck* and a t l e a s t one open r e e l q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic

ta p e deck which h a s s e p a ra te re c o rd and p layback heads and

s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n (a ls o known by such t r a d e names as

" s e l - s y n c ," "s im u l-sy n c* " and " s y n c ro - tr a k " ) . E x p lan a tio n s

o f th e s e term s and ta p e head fo rm ats a re c o n ta in e d in th e

fo llo w in g c h a p te r s . T h is monograph does n o t Include, i n f o r ­

m ation about m icrophones and r e l a t e d tech n iq u es* However*

n e a r ly a l l th e te c h n iq u e s d is c u sse d a re a p p l ic a b le to th e

g e n e ra l assem blage of e le c t r o n ic m usic.

In o rd e r to be made more m eaningful* th e te ch n iq u e s

p re s e n te d in t h i s monograph shou ld be p u t in to a c tu a l p ra c ­

t i c e . In t h i s re sp e c t* I t i s hoped t h a t t h i s monograph w i l l

se rv e a s a p r a c t i c a l guide*

1

I . BASIC TAPING INFORMATION

R ecord ing Tape

R ecord ing ta p e I s u s u a l ly made of e i t h e r a c e ta te o r

p o ly e s te r ( a ls o known as m y la r) . P o ly e s te r I s g e n e ra l ly

p r e f e r r e d to a c e ta te because I t can w ith s ta n d te m p era tu re

v a r ia t io n s b e t t e r snd w i l l l a s t much lo n g e r ( a c e ta te ta p e

te n d s to become b r i t t l e w ith a g e ) . P o ly e s te r w i l l n o t

b rea k as e a s i l y as a c e ta te ta p e b u t t h i s I s n o t r e a l l y an

ad v an tag e . Should som ething cause an u n u su a lly la rg e amount

o f te n s io n on th e ta p e (a f a u l ty tap e t r a n s p o r t mechanism,*

f o r in s t a n c e ) , p o ly e s te r ta p e w i l l s t r e t c h and p o s s ib ly be­

come u n u su ab le , w hereas a c e ta te ta p e w i l l u s u a l ly b reak

c le a n ly , a llo w in g th e ta p e to be s p l ic e d and to rem ain u s e -

a b le .

R ecording ta p e comes in th r e e th ic k n e s s e s , .5 m il , 1

m i l , and 1 .5 m il . A few tap e decks have a tap e te n s io n s e l ­

e c to r to a d ju s t th e ta p e t r a n s p o r t mechanism fo r th e v a rio u s

ta p e th ic k n e s s e s . One of th e d isad v an tag es of th in n e r ta p e

( .5 m il and 1 m il) i s t h a t i t w i l l o f te n allow p r in t- th ro u g h

to tak e p la c e . P r in t- th ro u g h occurs when one la y e r o f tap e

on a r e e l t r a n s f e r s some of i t s m agnetic s ig n a l to a d jo in in g

la y e r s of ta p e . The r e s u l t o f t h i s i s o f te n h ea rd as an

echo b e fo re o r a f t e r th e o r ig in a l sound on th e ta p e . The

u se of 1 .5 m il ta p e m inim izes p r in t - th ro u g h . A lso , 1 .5 m il

2

3

ta p e w i l l n o t s t r e t c h as r e a d i ly as th in n e r t a p e , and i s

e a s i e r to h an d le when e d i t in g and s p l i c in g th a n i s *5 and 1

m il tape*

The m ain advan tage o f th in n e r ta p e i s th a t i t a llo w s

f o r more re c o rd in g tim e p e r r e e l of tape* I f a 7 in ch

d ia m e te r r e e l o f *5 ta i l ta p e (21+00 f e e t of ta p e ) I s re c o rd ed

a t th e speed o f 7 1 /2 In ch es p e r second ( l p s ) , i t w i l l p ro ­

v id e a re c o rd in g tim e o f one hour in one d ire c t io n * U sing

th e same ta p e speed and r e e l s iz e w ith 1 m il ta p e (1800 f e e t

o f ta p e ) r e s u l t s in a re c o rd in g tim e o f f o r ty - f iv e m inu tes

in one d ire c t io n * A 7 Inch d iam ete r r e e l o f 1*5 m il ta p e

(1200 f e e t o f ta p e ) re co rd ed in one d i r e c t io n u s in g a ta p e

speed o f 7 1 /2 ip s r e s u l t s in a re c o rd in g tim e o f t h i r t y

m inutes* W hile th e s e re c o rd in g tim es may seem to be r e l a ­

t i v e l y lo n g , th e y would be h a lv ed i f th e ta p e s were re c o rd ­

ed a t a speed of 15 lps* Because t h i s speed i s o f te n used

f o r e l e c t r o n ic music a p p l ic a t io n s , th e le n g th o f th e a v a i l ­

a b le re c o rd in g tim e becomes a s e r io u s c o n s id e ra tio n * The

e a s i e s t way to avo id t h i s problem i s to use a 10 1 /2 Inch

d ia m e te r r e e l of t a p e , which p ro v id es tw ice th e re c o rd in g

tim e of a 7 in ch r e e l o f ta p e .

In a d d i t io n to th e 7 and 10 1 /2 inch d iam ete r s i z e s ,

ta p e r e e l s come in 3 , 1+, 5# and 11+ in ch d iam eters* 10 1 /2

in ch and 11+ inch r e e l s u s u a l ly have NAB (N a tio n a l A sso c ia ­

t i o n o f B ro a d c a s te rs ) hubs o r c e n te r s , r a th e r th a n s o l id

hubs w ith a 5 / l6 in ch c e n te r h o le (F igure 1)* However,

a d a p te rs a re a v a i la b le to make 10 1/2 inch NAB hub r e e l s f i t

k

F ig . 1 .— Examples o f s o l id and NAB hubreels*«

a ta p e deck d esig n ed f o r s o l id hub r e e l s w ith a 5 /1 6 Inch

c e n te r h o le , p ro v id ed th a t such a ta p e deck can accommodate

10 1 /2 Inch re e ls *

R ecording ta p e comes In v a rio u s w id th s , from 1 /8 Inch

ta p e f o r c a s s e t t e re c o rd e rs to 2 Inch ta p e f o r la rg e m u l t i -

t r a c k re c o rd in g s tu d io machines* The most common ta p e

w id th f o r r e l a t i v e l y in ex p en s iv e open r e e l ta p e decks I s l/If.

In ch , though some e le c t r o n ic m usic s tu d io s do have m achines

which u se 1/2 Inch and w ider tape* One o f th e advan tages o f

w ider ta p e i s th a t I t a llow s f o r more s ig n a l to be reco rd ed

on ta p e and th e r e fo r e a b e t t e r ( la rg e r ) r a t i o betw een th e

r e s id u a l n o ise of th e tap e i t s e l f (u s u a lly h eard as h i s s )

and th e reco rd ed s ig n a l* T his I s known as s lg n a l - to -n o ls e

r a t io *

A nother f a c to r which p a r t i a l l y de term ines s lg n a l - to -

n o lse r a t i o I s th e type o f ta p e used* In th e open r e e l f o r ­

m at, th e main ta p e ty p es a v a i la b le a re known as s ta n d a rd

ta p e , low -no ise ta p e , and lo w -n o lse /h lg h -o u tp u t ta p e . The

advan tage o f lo w -n o ise and lo w -n o lse /h ig h -o u tp u t ta p e s over

s ta n d a rd tap e Is th a t th e y can s to r e more reco rd ed s ig n a l

5

b e fo re th e y become s a tu r a te d and d i s t o r t i o n o o cu rs . T his

ln e re a s e s th e s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t io *

L o w -n o ise /h ig h -o u tp u t ta p e , as w e ll as b e in g ab le to

s to r e as much o r more re c o rd e d s ig n a l as lo w -n o ise ta p e ,

rep ro d u ces th e h ig h f re q u e n c ie s o f a reco rd ed s ig n a l a t

h ig h e r le v e ls th a n do s ta n d a rd and lo w -n o ise ta p e s . T h is

a llo w s f o r th e t r e b l e to be reduced to a norm al le v e l d u rin g

p layback which th e r e fo r e red u ces th e amount of ta p e h i s s a t

th e same t im e . A lso , some o f th e most re c e n t lo w -n o ise /h lg h -

oufcput ta p e s have a c o a tin g on t h e i r o u ts id e ( th e s id e of th e

ta p e which I s away from th e ta p e heads) which i s d u l l lo o k in g

and a b i t ro u g h er th an th e u s u a l u ncoa ted p o ly e s te r o f o th e r

ta p e s . T h is s p e c ia l c o a tin g I s In ten d ed to reduce s t a t i c

e l e c t r i c i t y w h ich ;c o l l e c t s d u st and produces ta p e h i s s , and

t o a llo w f o r a sm oother flow th rough th e ta p e t r a n s p o r t

mechanism.

For each o f th e above m entioned ta p e ty p es to be r e ­

co rd ed a t i t s optimum s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t i o , a h ig h freq u en cy

s ig n a l c a l le d th e b ia s c u r re n t (which i s combined w ith th e

in p u t s ig n a l to be reco rd ed and fed to th e tap e th ro u g h the

re c o rd head o f th e ta p e deck) must be c o r r e c t ly a d ju s te d to

each ta p e ty p e . Most good q u a l i ty tape decks have a sw itch

which a llo w s f o r changes In th e b ia s c u r re n t to s u i t th e

v a r io u s ty p e s o f ta p e . Such sw itches u s u a l ly have two s e t ­

t i n g s , one f o r s ta n d a rd ta p e , and th e o th e r f o r b o th low-

n o is e and lo w -n o lse /h lg h -o u tp u t ta p e s . U su a lly , th e m anufac­

t u r e r o f th e ta p e deck w i l l g iv e th e s p e c if ic brand name of

th e ta p e f o r which t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r m achine i s c o r r e c t ly

b ia se d .* -

In g e n e ra l , i t i s recommended t h a t a good q u a l i ty

p o ly e s te r b ased , 1 .5 m il , lo w -n o ise /h ig h -o u tp u t ta p e be

u se d , as poor q u a l i ty ta p e may have d ro p -o u ts (p la c e s where

th e s t r e n g th o f th e reco rd ed s ig n a l i s sudden ly re d u c e d ),

gum up th e ta p e h e a d s , and cause e x c e ss iv e ta p e head w ear.

Tape Decks

A ta p e deck c o n s is ts o f a ta p e t r a n s p o r t mechanism,

ta p e h e a d s , p r e a m p li f ie r s , and v a r io u s o th e r e le c t r o n ic com­

p o n e n ts . I t does n o t c o n ta in an a m p lif ie r and sp eak ers f o r

m o n ito rin g ( l i s t e n in g to ) th e p layback o f th e ta p e , bu t

u s u a l ly has a headphone Jack which a llow s fo r m o n ito rin g th e

ta p e w ith headphones. F o r m o n ito rin g th rough a p layback

system , th e o u tp u ts o f th e ta p e deck must be connected to

th e a p p ro p r ia te in p u ts on an e x te rn a l a m p l i f ie r . T his i s

accom plished by co n n ec tin g th e o u tp u ts on th e ta p e d e c k 's

back o r s id e , la b e le d l in e - o u t , t o th e in p u ts , la b e le d ta p e -

p la y (o r t a p e - in , l i n e - l n , a u x - ln , e t c . ) , on an e x te rn a l

a m p l i f ie r . The s ig n a ls to be reco rd ed by th e ta p e deck from

th e s y n th e s iz e r may be connected d i r e c t l y to a l i n e - i n Jack

on th e ta p e deck , o r may be ro u te d th rough th e e x te rn a l amp­

l i f i e r and th e n connected to th e l i n e - i n Jacks on th e tap e

deck . The l i n e - i n Jacks a re n ex t to , or above, th e l in e -o u t

lF o r f u r th e r In fo rm atio n on ta p e b ia s see M ichael B. M artin , "Tape Perform ance and Tape R ecorder B ia s in g ,” S te re o Review, V ol. 32, No. I* (A p r il , 197k)» PP* 56-60.

jacks on th e ta p e deck*

Line In p u ts and l in e o u tp u ts a re h ig h l e v e l , h ig h

Impedance co n n ec tio n s (600-ohms and above) and must conse­

q u e n tly be connected to o th e r o u tp u ts and In p u ts whloh a re

a ls o h ig h le v e l c o n n e c tio n s . For In s ta n c e , th e l i n e ou tpu t

o f one ta p e deck channel may be connected to th e l in e Input

o f an o th e r ta p e deck channel and v ic e v e r s a .

M icrophone In p u ts a re low le v e l In p u ts . They may have

a h ig h impedance o r a low Impedance (f>0- to 600-ohm s). On

some ta p e d eck s , th e Impedance o f th e m icrophone In p u ts may

be changed to s u i t b o th low and h ig h Impedance m icrophones.

To av o id hum and h ig h freq u en cy lo s s e s , h ig h impedance

m icrophones shou ld n o t be used w ith cords lo n g e r th an about

te n f e e t , w h ile low impedance m icrophones may be used w ith

mueh lo n g e r c o rd s .

The Tape T ra n sp o rt Mechanism

The ta p e t r a n s p o r t mechanism moves th e re c o rd in g ta p e

from l e f t t o r i g h t a c ro ss th e tap e heads f o r re c o rd in g and

p la y in g back th e ta p e . I t can a ls o move th e ta p e r a p id ly in

e i t h e r d i r e c t io n th rough th e use o f F a s t Forward and Reverse

c o n t ro ls . Some ta p e decks p ro v id e a Pause c o n tro l which can

q u ic k ly s to p and s t a r t th e ta p e w h ile th e deck I s in th e

re c o rd mode. T h is I s u s e fu l f o r s p e c ia l e d i t in g a p p l ic a ­

t i o n s , such as le a v in g out b reaks between movements when

re c o rd in g l iv e c o n c e r ts . The ta p e t r a n s p o r t must be ab le to

m a in ta in th e movement of th e tape a t a co n s tan t r a t e o f

speed d u rin g re c o rd in g and p lay b ack . This I s ach ieved

8

th ro u g h th e use o f a c a p s ta n and cap s ta n r o l l e r , as w e ll as

th ro u g h th e m otion o f th e supp ly and tak e up r e e l s (F igure

2 ) , Any v a r i a t i o n o f speed w i l l r e s u l t In an unwanted

Fig# 2 . —Diagram o f th e su p p ly and ta k e up r e e l s , ta p e h e a d s , c a p s ta n , cap s tan r o l l e r , and ta p e l i f t e r s .

change In th e freq u en cy o f th e sound b e in g reco rd ed o r

p lay ed back . I f t h i s change in speed i s p e r io d ic and p ro ­

duces a v ib r a to l i k e e f f e c t on th e reco rd ed m a te r ia l , I t i s

known In aud io te rm in o lo g y as nwow and f l u t t e r # " Wow

In c lu d e s th o se p e r io d ic v a r ia t io n s in freq u en cy which occur

from once ev e ry two seconds to about s ix tim es a second,

w h ile f l u t t e r in c lu d e s th o se p e r io d ic v a r ia t io n s in f r e ­

quency which o ccu r more th a n s ix tim es a second up to about

two hundred and f i f t y tim es a second .^

^ In h i s book The P r in c ip le s and P ra c t ic e of E le c tro n ic M usic, (New York: G ro sse t ana b u n iap , 1973), P* i0 9 , G il-h e r b P r y t h a l l s t a t e s th a t "wow I s an in d ic a t io n of uneven r e e l m otion; f l u t t e r In d ic a te s v a r ia t io n s in ca p s ta n speed#1' Wow and f l u t t e r a re a c tu a l ly d e s ig n a tio n s which in d ic a te slow and f a s t p e r io d ic v a r ia t io n s In frequency o f reco rd ed m a te r ia l caused by th e tap e t r a n s p o r t mechanism# While uneven r e e l m otion and v a r ia t io n s in c ap s tan speed may cause wow and f l u t t e r , th e s e should no t se rve to d i f f e r e n ­t i a t e between th e term s wow and f l u t t e r . For more Inform a­t i o n on wow and f l u t t e r , see C raig S ta rk , "Tape H o rizo n s ," S te re o Review, V ol. 30, No. 2 (F eb ru ary , 1973)» p . 11*2.

su p p ly r e e l tak e up r e e K

tap e heads ca p s ta n

ca p s ta n r o l l e rta p e l i f t e r s

9

The ta p e t r a n s p o r t i s o p e ra ted th ro u g h th e u se of

c o n t r o l s , u s u a l ly e i t h e r le v e r s o r b u t to n s , on th e f ro n t o f

th e ta p e deck* In ex p en s iv e decks u s u a l ly have a s in g le motor

which th ro u g h v a r io u s c lu tc h e s and b e l t s tu rn s th e ta p e r e e l s

and th e capstan* More expensive decks u s u a l ly have th r e e

m o to rs , two f o r o p e ra t in g th e ta p e r e e l s , and one f o r tu rn in g

th e capstan* On such ta p e d eck s , th e t r a n s p o r t mechanism i s

u s u a l ly o p e ra te d e l e c t r o n i c a l ly th ro u g h th e use of so le n o id

sw itches* S o len o id o p e ra t io n a llo w s f o r rem ote c o n t ro l

o p e ra t io n o f th e ta p e deck*

The ta p e speeds u s u a l ly used f o r re c o rd in g a re 1 7/8

in ch es p e r second ( i p s ) , 3 3 / k ips* 7 1 /2 i p s , and ’15 ips*

I t sh o u ld be n o tic e d th a t each speed i s tw ice as f a s t as

th e p re c e d in g one. Few ta p e decks p ro v id e a l l fo u r speeds

though some p ro v id e th re e o f th e fo u r , u s u a l ly e i t h e r 1 7 /8

ips* 3 3 / k ips* and 7 1 /2 i p s , o r 3 3 /k i p s , 7 1 /2 Ip s , and

15 i p s . More decks o f f e r on ly two sp eed s , u s u a l ly e i t h e r

3 3 / k ip s and 7 1 /2 i p s , o r 7 1 /2 lp s and 15 ip s . C a sse tte

decks o p e ra te a t 1 7 /8 lp s and some p ro fe s s io n a l s tu d io

m achines o f f e r th e speed of 30 i p s .

The f a s t e r th e ta p e sp eed , th e la rg e r th e amount of

s ig n a l s to re d on th e ta p e w ith in a g iven le n g th of tim e .

T h is r e s u l t s in a b e t t e r re p ro d u c tio n of th e f re q u e n c ie s

b e in g re c o rd e d , which In audio te rm in o lo g y is m easured by

"frequency re sp o n se . n At th e speeds o f 7 1/2 ip s and 15

I p s , th e b e s t s e m i-p ro fe s s io n a l ta p e decks a re ab le to

rep roduce a l l th e a u d ib le fre q u e n c ie s (from 20 to 20,000 Hz)

xo

e q u a lly w e ll , and a few ta p e decks do re c o rd w ith e x c e l le n t

f i d e l i t y a t th e speed of 3 2 /k lp s .3 However, most ta p in g

sh o u ld be done a t 7 1 /2 lp s o r 15 lp s f o r good f i d e l i t y and

a good s lg n a l - to - n o l s e r a t io * A lso , a t th e ta p e speeds o f

7 1 /2 ip s and 15 lp s I t I s e a s i e r to make good s p l ic e s

b ecause each second o f re co rd ed sound co rresp o n d s to 7 1 /2

o r 15 in c h es on th e ta p e , and co n seq u en tly th e r e Is more

d is ta n c e on th e ta p e between sounds th a n th e re I s a t slow er

sp e e d s . T h is makes th e to le ra n c e s Invo lved In th e e d i t in g

and s p l i c in g p rocedu re le s s e x a c tin g . The slow er ta p e

speeds a re u s e f u l f o r ta p e echo and o th e r s p e c ia l e f f e c t s ,

a s w e ll as f o r re c o rd in g f o r ex trem ely long p e r io d s o f tim e .

A few ta p e decks o f f e r a v a r ia b le speed c o n tro l which

may be u s e f u l f o r c o r r e c t in g th e speed (p i tc h and tempo) of

a ta p e reco rd ed on a deck whose speed was no t e x a c t. A lso,1

v a r ia b le speed c o n tro l can be u sed f o r u n u su a l e f f e c t s .

Tape sp e e d s , In c lu d in g v a r ia b le speed c o n t ro l , a re f u r th e r

d is c u s se d In C hapter I I I .

The supp ly and ta k e up r e e l s a re a ls o p a r t o f th e tap e

t r a n s p o r t mechanism. They shou ld be locked In p la c e on th e

3por optimum perform ance, a l l f re q u e n c ie s from 20 to 20,000 Hz ( th e term H e rtz , a b b re v ia te d Hz, has g e n e ra lly sup p la n te d c y c le s p e r second In audio te rm in o lo g y ) should be rep roduced w ith o u t any change in frequency co n ten t or change In th e r e la t io n s h ip o f th e am p litudes o f th e in d iv id u a l f r e ­q u en c ies to each o th e r . T h e re fo re , t o be m ean ing fu l, a g iv en freq u en cy response shou ld in c lu d e any v a r ia n c e s ( in d e c ib e ls ) from an e s ta b l is h e d norm freq u en cy . The norm e s ta b l i s h e d by th e N a tio n a l A sso c ia tio n o f B ro a d c a s te rs , Is th e o u tp u t l e v e l o f a ta p e deck a t 1+00 Hz, which i s a r b i t ­r a r i l y r a t e d a t ze ro d e c ib e ls (d b ). An e x c e lle n t freq u en cy resp o n se would be a re co rd /p la y b ac k r a t in g of 20-20,000 Hz,+ 2 db.

11

s p in d le s o f th e ta p e deck, e i t h e r w ith th e b u i l t - i n sp r in g

ty p e lo c k s which p u l l out and tw is t to h o ld th e ta p e r e e l s

in p la c e , o r w ith ru b b e r cap s . I f a ta p e deck can accom­

modate 10 1 /2 in ch r e e l s as w e ll as 7 inch r e e l s , i t w i l l

p ro b ab ly have a sw itch to s e t th e c o r r e c t amount o f te n s io n

on th e ta p e f o r b o th r e e l s i z e s .

Most ta p e decks have ta p e l i f t e r s which l i f t th e tap e

o f f th e heads d u rin g f a s t forw ard and re v e rse to p r o te c t th e

h ead s from e x c e ss iv e wear (see F ig u re 2 ) . Most tap e decks

which have ta p e l i f t e r s a ls o p ro v id e a way of d e fe a tin g them

( tu rn in g them o f f ) f o r e d i t in g p u rp o ses .

Tape Heads

Tape heads a re sm all e lec tro m ag n e ts whose e x te rn a l

s u r fa c e c o n s is ts o f two m e ta l p o le s w ith a sm a ll gap In

betw een. The gap i s f i l l e d w ith a non-m agnetic m a te r ia l .

Tape heads a re s p e c ia l ly designed to serve d i f f e r e n t fu n c ­

t i o n s . On in ex p en siv e q u a r te r - t r a c k s te re o ta p e decks and

most c a s s e t t e d eck s, th e re a re u s u a l ly two ta p e h ea d s , one

d es ig n ed to e r a s e th e tap e and an o th e r designed to both

re c o rd and p layback th e ta p e . More expensive tap e decks may

have th r e e ta p e h ead s . These In c lu d e an e ra se head and sep ­

a r a te heads f o r th e re c o rd and p layback fu n c t io n s . F ig u re

3 shows th e th re e ta p e heads p laced in the normal o rd e r in

which th e y occur on a ta p e deck. S ince th e p layback head

fo llo w s th e re c o rd head , a s ig n a l which i s be ing reco rd ed

can be Im m ediately m onitored d i r e c t ly from th e ta p e . The

12

e ra s e reco rd p layback

ta p e

P ig . 3 , - -E ra s e , r e c o rd , and p layback headsIn norm al o rd e r .

s e p a ra t io n o f th e re c o rd and p layback heads a ls o a llow s fo r

ta p e echo t o be produced (see page M 3). A nother advantage

o f s e p a ra te re c o rd and p layback heads i s th a t th e y can be

m anufactu red s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r t h e i r in d iv id u a l fu n c tio n s

(have d i f f e r e n t head gap s i z e s , f o r In s ta n c e ) which r e s u l t s

In b e t t e r f i d e l i t y . To e ra s e a ta p e , an e ra se head produces

a m agnetic f i e l d whose p o la r i t y i s r a p id ly changing . As th e

ta p e c ro s s e s th e e ra s e head and moves away from i t , th e mag­

n e t i c f i e l d s on th e ta p e a re weakened u n t i l th e y a re n e a r ly

n o n e x is te n t , and th e ta p e I s co n seq u en tly e ra s e d . In

r e c o rd in g , th e re c o rd head tu rn s th e e l e c t r i c a l im pulses i t

r e c e iv e s in to r a p id ly changing m agnetic f i e l d s which i t

t r a n s f e r s to th e re c o rd in g ta p e as i t p asses by. D uring

p lay b ack , th e p layback head read s th e m agnetic s ig n a l on th e

ta p e and changes i t back in to an e l e c t r i c a l s ig n a l .

Tape heads may be "s tack e d " to g e th e r in one housing so

t h a t more th a n one channel can be reco rd ed a t th e same tim e .

T his i s u s u a l ly done in such a way th a t th e gaps of th e two

o r more heads in one " s ta c k " a re in l in e w ith each o th e r .

13

F ig u re ^ shows examples o f v a r io u s head and head s ta o k f o r ­

m a ts .

f u l l - t r a c k h a l f - t r a c k h a l f - t r a c k q u a r te r - t r a c k q u a r te r - t r a c k monophonic s te r e o monophonic s te r e o quadraphonic

1 1' 1 I r . i_.:i1 II—1 l H_J< 1__IL_J

ta p e

F ig . Ij..—D if fe re n t head and head s ta c k fo rm a ts .

In f u l l - t r a c k monophonic re c o rd in g , th e s ig n a l from

th e ta p e head Is reco rd ed on n e a r ly th e e n t i r e w idth o f the

ta p e , and th e ta p e Is reco rd ed in on ly one d i r e c t io n . In

th e h a l f - t r a c k s te re o fo rm a t, two ta p e heads which each

cover ap p ro x im a te ly h a l f th e t o t a l w idth o f th e ta p e a re

s ta c k e d to g e th e r w ith t h e i r head gaps in l i n e . T h is head

fo rm at can be used to s im u lta n e o u s ly re c o rd two ch a n n e ls ,

w ith th e ta p e reco rd ed in o n ly one d i r e c t io n . In th e h a l f ­

t r a c k s te r e o fo rm a t, th e re I s enough space l e f t between th e

two reco rd ed channels so th a t t h e i r s ig n a ls w i l l n o t s i g ­

n i f i c a n t l y t r a n s f e r a c ro s s th e ta p e to in t e r f e r e w ith one

n o th e r . Such in te r f e r e n c e i s known as " c r o s s t a lk ” and i s

m easured by th e d i f f e r e n c e In d e c ib e ls between th e s t r e n g th

o f th e reco rd ed s ig n a l on each channel and th e amount o f

s ig n a l t r a n s f e r r e d a c ro ss th e ta p e from one channel to

a n o th e r . The h a l f - t r a c k monophonic form at u ses only one of

th e h a l f - t r a c k ta p e h e a d s . One channel may be reco rd ed in

Ik

one d i r e c t io n on th e ta p e , and th en th e tak e up r e e l may be

tu rn e d o v e r , p laced in th e p o s i t io n o f th e supp ly r e e l , and

a n o th e r channel reco rd ed in th e o p p o s ite d i r e c t io n on th e

ta p e (F ig u re 5)* T h is p rocedu re may a ls o be accom plished

u s in g on ly one ch an n e l of a h a l f - t r a c k s te re o ta p e deck, i f

so d e s i r e d .

F ig . 5«--Two channels reco rd ed in o p p o s ite d i r e c t i o n s , u s in g th e h a l f - t r a c k monophonic tap e head fo rm a t.

In th e q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o fo rm a t, two ta p e heads

which each co v er ap p ro x im ate ly a q u a r te r o f th e t o t a l w id th

o f th e t8 p e a re s ta ck e d to g e th e r w ith t h e i r head gaps in

l i n e . As can be seen in F ig u re I)., t h e i r p lacem ent c o r r e s ­

ponds w ith th e f i r s t and t h i r d heads in th e q u a r te r - t r e c k

quadraphon ic head s ta c k . T h is p e rm its two channels to be

reco rd ed in one d i r e c t io n on the ta p e , and th e n f o r th e ta k e

up r e e l to be tu rn e d o v e r , p laced in th e p o s i t io n of th e

su p p ly r e e l , and f o r two more channels to be reco rd ed in th e

o th e r d i r e c t io n on th e ta p e . T h is r e s u l t s in a l l fo u r chan­

n e l s of ta p e b e in g re c o rd e d , w ith th e f i r s t and t h i r d chan­

n e ls reco rd ed in one d i r e c t io n , and th e second and fo u r th

ch an n e ls re co rd e d in th e o th e r d i r e c t io n (F ig u re 6 ) . The

q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic form at u ses fo u r tap e heads which

each cover ap p ro x im ate ly a q u a r te r of th e t o t a l w id th of th e

P ig , 6 . —Two s e ts o f channels reco rd ed in o p p o s ite d i r e c t io n s , u s in g th e q u a r te r - t r a c k s te re o ta p e head fo rm a t.

ta p e and a r e s ta c k e d to g e th e r w ith t h e i r head gaps in l i n e .

T h is fo rm at can be used to s im u lta n e o u s ly re c o rd fo u r chan­

n e ls In one d i r e c t io n on a ta p e .

In th e dne q u a r te r in c h ta p e w id th , th e f u l l - and h a l f ­

t r a c k ta p e head fo rm ats a llow fo r a b e t t e r s lg n a l - to - n o ls e

r a t i o , b e t t e r freq u en cy re sp o n se , and le s s c r o s s ta lk th a n do

th e q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o and quadraphonic fo rm a ts . T his i s

because l a r g e r heads re c o rd more s ig n a l on ta p e and th e

space between channels on ta p e i s g r e a te r In th e h a l f - t r a c k

s te r e o form at th a n in th e q u a r te r - t r a c k fo rm a ts . In th e one

h a l f in c h ta p e w id th , th e q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic form at

u se s heads th e seme s iz e as h a l f - t r a c k heads f o r th e one

q u a r te r Inch ta p e w id th and th e re fo r e r e ta in s th e p o te n t i a l

f o r an e x c e l le n t freq u en cy resp o n se and s lg n a l - to -n o ls e

r a t i o . The m ain advantage of th e q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o f o r ­

mat i s th a t i t a llow s f o r tw ice as much re c o rd in g tim e p e r

r e e l o f ta p e as th e h a l f - t r a c k s te r e o fo rm at. However, t h i s

advan tage i s n eg a ted by th e f a c t th a t In most e le c t ro n ic

m usic a p p l ic a t io n s , th e ta p e must be s p l ic e d and can th e r e ­

fo re be reco rd ed in on ly one d i r e c t io n .

16

Some o f th e v a r io u s ta p e head fo rm ats a re com patib le

w ith one a n o th e r , w hile o th e rs a re n o t . Assuming th a t a l l

th e fo llo w in g ta p e decks u se th e same w id th ta p e , a ta p e

produced on a h a l f - t r a c k monophonic deok cou ld be p lay ed on

a h a l f - t r a c k s te r e o deck by m o n ito rin g th e f i r s t channel of

th e s te r e o deck , and a ta p e reco rd ed in q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o

cou ld be p lay ed on a q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic deck by mon­

i to r in g th e f i r s t and t h i r d channels o f th e quadraphonic

deck . A lso assum ing th e same ta p e w id th f o r th e fo llo w in g

m ach in es, a q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic tap e deck could su c­

c e s s f u l ly m o n ito r a s te r e o ta p e produced on a h a l f - t r a c k

s te r e o d eck . T h is would be done by m o n ito rin g th e f i r s t and

fo u r th channels on th e quadraphonic deck .

However, a h a l f - t r a c k s te re o deck would not be a b le to

s u c c e s s fu l ly m o n ito r a ta p e reco rd ed in q u a r te r - t r a c k s te re o

because i t s heads would cover th e second and fo u r th channels

on th e ta p e a s w e ll as th e f i r s t and th i r d c h a n n e ls . As­

suming th a t th e second and fo u r th channels were b la n k , a

h a l f - t r a c k s te r e o deck would s t i l l p ic k up a la rg e amount of

h i s s from th e empty channels which would s e r io u s ly degrade

th e f i d e l i t y o f th e reco rd ed m a te r ia l d u rin g p lay b ack . In

o rd e r to av o id t h i s p roblem , some h a l f - t r a c k s te re o ta p e

decks have th r e e head s ta c k s f o r th e e r a s e , reco rd and p la y ­

back fu n c t io n s , and a fo u r th head s ta c k in th e q u a r te r - t r a c k

s te r e o form at f o r m o n ito rin g ta p e s reco rd ed in q u a r te r - t r a c k

s te r e o .

The c o m p a tib i l i ty of d i f f e r e n t ta p e decks w ith th e

17

same head fo rm ats may be a f f e c te d by s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t tap e

h e a d s , d i f f e r e n t b ia s s e t t i n g s , and by d i f f e r e n t head a l ig n ­

m ent. Head alignm ent i s sim ply th e p h y s ic a l a lignm ent of th e

tv o o r th r e e ta p e heads on a s in g le deck. I f reco rded on a

ta p e deck w ith in c o r r e c t head a lig n m en t, a ta p e may s u f f e r a

s e r io u s lo s s i n s ig n a l - to -n o is e r a t i o and a poor freq u en cy

re sp o n se when p layed back on a d i f f e r e n t ta p e deck.

O ther E le c t r i c a l and M echanical Components

The p re a m p lif ie r s o f a ta p e deck a re used to c o n tro l

th e amount o f in p u t s ig n a l to be reco rd ed on ta p e , and to

c o n t ro l th e amount of p layback s ig n a l (from th e ta p e ) which

i s se n t to th e e x te r n a l a m p lif ie r and sp eak ers a n d /o r th e

headphones fo r m o n ito rin g . The le v e l of th e s ig n a l to be

reco rd ed I s determ ined by th e s e t t in g s of th e in p u t knobs

(one f o r each a v a i la b le c h a n n e l) . These may be d iv id e d in to

s e p a ra te groups which have d i f f e r e n t fu n c t io n s , one to s e t

th e le v e l o f a s ig n a l e n te r in g th e deck th rough th e l in e

In p u ts , and th e o th e r to s e t th e le v e l o f a s ig n a l e n te r in g

th e deck th ro u g h th e m icrophone In p u ts . Some decks p rov ide

th e f e a tu r e known as m ic / l ln e m ix ing , which means th a t s ig ­

n a l s e n te r in g th e deck th rough th e microphone and l in e

in p u ts may be mixed to g e th e r and reco rd ed a t th e same tim e

on a d e s ire d ch an n e l.

A v i s u a l in d ic a t io n o f th e amount of s ig n a l b e in g re c o rd ­

ed on ta p e i s p rov ided by th e VU (Volume U n it) m e te rs . There

I s u s u a l ly a VU m eter f o r each channel on th e deok. As can be

seen in F ig u re 7, VU m eters may have two s c a le s , th e upper

one re a d in g in d e c ib e ls and th e low er one re a d in g in p e rc e n t

At z e ro db o r 100 p e rc e n t , th e maximum amount of s ig n a l has

been reco rd ed on tap e b e fo re d i s t o r t i o n w i l l ocour.

F ig . 7 . — Example o f a VU m e te r .

The le v e l o f th e s ig n a l be ing p lay ed back i s d e t e r ­

mined by th e s e t t in g s o f th e p layback knobs (one f o r each

c h a n n e l) . O ther s e t s of sw itch es which c o n tro l v a rio u s

re c o rd and p layback fu n c tio n s may be a v a ila b le on a ta p e

deck . These a re d isc u sse d in th e fo llo w in g s e c t io n on

r e c o rd in g , p lay b ack , and e ra s in g p ro c e d u re s .

An im p o rtan t f e a tu r e b u i l t in to th e p re a m p lif ie r s of

a l l ta p e decks i s known as e q u a l iz a t io n . E q u a liz a t io n I s a

b o o st In am p litude to th e t r e b le and bass f re q u e n c ie s to com

p e n sa te f o r th e v a r io u s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e p layback head

b ia s c u r r e n t , and th e ta p e I t s e l f which cause a lo s s of

t r e b l e and b a ss f re q u e n c ie s . The playback e q u a l iz a t io n of

a l l ta p e decks i s s ta n d a rd iz e d by th e N a tio n a l A sso c ia tio n

o f B ro ad c as te rs so th a t a tap e reco rd ed on one deck may be

p lay ed back on a n o th e r . However, th e e q u a l iz a t io n d u rin g

19

th e re c o rd in g p ro c e ss may v a ry from deck to deck.**

A m echan ical d ev ice found on most ta p e decks I s an

Index c o u n te r which p e rm its th e in d ex in g o f v a r io u s s e c tio n s

w ith in a r e e l o f ts p e to f a c i l i t a t e lo c a tin g them l a t e r . On

most d eck s , th e index c o u n te r in d ic a te s th e number o f re v ­

o lu t io n s made by th e su p p ly r e e l r a th e r th a n th e number of

f e e t o f ta p e which have passed th e h ead s . C ounters which

m easure f e e t o f ta p e , o r a c tu a l p la y in g tim e o f the ta p e ,

a re a v a i la b le and may be purchased s e p a ra te ly .

One o th e r f e a tu re o f m ost tap e decks I s au to m atic

s to p . G e n e ra lly , au tom atic s to p s to p s th e m otion of th e

su p p ly and ta k e up r e e l s once th e end o f th e ta p e has passed

a se n s in g d ev ice p la c e d n ea r th e tap e h e e d s . On some decks,

t h i s s e n s in g d ev ice I s a sm all rod o r le v e r which I s allow ed

to f a l l once th e end o f th e ta p e has p assed I t . Sometimes,

even when th e ta p e I s c o r r e c t ly th re a d ed ac ro ss th e ta p e

heads and betw een th e ca p s ta n and cap stan r o l l e r , th e te n ­

s io n on th e ta p e w i l l be lo o se and i t w i l l no t f u l l y l i f t

th e au to m atic s to p le v e r . C onsequently th e ta p e deck w i l l

n o t ru n when I t I s tu rn e d to P lay , Record, e t c . T his can be

sim ply rem edied by in c re a s in g th e te n s io n on th e ta p e .

A nother ty p e o f au to m atic s to p sen sin g d ev ice i s an " e l e c t r i c

eye" which w i l l s to p th e r e e l m otion when th e re i s no tap e

co v e rin g i t . The u se of c le a r le a d e r ta p e w ith such a

4por a more d e ta i l e d d is c u s s io n of e q u a l iz a t io n , see C raig S ta rk , "Tape H o rizo n s ," S te re o Review, V ol. 27» Mo. 3 (Septem ber, 1971)# P- 128, and Vol. ^7 , No. if (O ctober,1971), p . 146.

20

s h u t - o f f d ev ice a ls o s to p s th e r e e l m o tio n , and i f s p l ic e d

in to a r e e l o f ta p e cou ld p ro v id e conven ien t s to p p in g p o in ts

in a ta p e co m p o sitio n . Some ta p e decks a ls o have f o i l

se n s in g d e v ices which cause th e deck to s to p a u to m a tic a lly

a t a sp o t on th e ta p e pre-m arked w ith a p iece o f sen sin g

f o i l . A few such decks a ls o have a s p e c ia l scann ing mode in

which th e y w i l l " f in d " a pre-m arked sp o t on th e ta p e from

th e f a s t forw ard mode, s to p , a u to m a tic a lly rew ind to th e p re ­

marked s p o t , and b e g in th e p la y mode a t th a t p o in t*

Though i t has been im p lied t h a t th e use of q u a r te r -

t r a c k s te r e o and q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic ta p e decks

d es ig n ed f o r one q u a r te r in ch ta p e may n o t be id e a l , i t

o f te n becomes a m a tte r o f p r a c t i c a l i t y to use such equipment

due to i t s a v a i l a b i l i t y and th e g e n e ra l la ck of money to buy

more ex p en siv e eaulpm ent* While th e y may n o t be " id e a l , "

some o f th e s e m i-p ro fe s s io n a l q u a r te r - t r a c k s te re o and quad­

rap h o n ic ta p e decks which use one q u a r te r inch ta p e have

v e ry f in e s p e c i f ic a t io n s and a re s u i t a b le f o r use In e l e c ­

t r o n i c m usic s tu d io s*

Recording* P layback , and E ra s in g P rocedures

The f i r s t s te p to t s k e b e fo re o p e ra tin g a ta p e deck i s

to re ad th e in s t r u c t io n manual which came w ith i t* T his

shou ld be used to h e lp f in d th e s p e c if ic knobs o r sw itch es

d e sc r ib e d in th e fo llo w in g l i s t o f p ro ced u res . Any o f the

fo llo w in g s te p s which a re n o t a p p lic a b le to th e s p e c i f ic

ta p e deck b e in g used shou ld be om itted*

1) The e x te rn a l a m p lif ie r u sed fo r m o n ito rin g shou ld

be s e t so i t w i l l m on ito r the l i n e o u tp u t from th e ta p e

deck . The l i n e o u tp u ts o f th e ta p e deck shou ld be connected

to th e e x te r n a l a m p l i f ie r as d e sc r ib e d on page 6 *

2) The power cord of th e ta p e deck shou ld be connected

to an a .c* o u t le t and th e power sw itch of th e deck tu rn e d on*

3) The su p p ly and ta k e up r e e l s shou ld be locked in

p la c e on th e ta p e deck and th e ta p e th read ed ac ro ss th e ta p e

heads and betw een th e c a p s ta n and cap stan r o l l e r , fo llo w in g

th e in s t r u c t io n s in th e ta p e deck*s I n s t r u c t io n manual*

ll) The b ia s sw itch shou ld be s e t f o r th e ty p e of tap e

b e in g used*

5) The sw itch es which a d ju s t th e ta p e te n s io n fo r t h in

o r th ic k ta p e and f o r la rg e o r sm all r e e l s shou ld be s e t f o r

th e ta p e th ic k n e s s and r e e l s iz e b e in g used*

6 ) The ta p e speed sw itch should be s e t fo r th e d e s ire d

speed* U su a lly th e f a s t e s t a v a i la b le speed should be

s e le c te d as t h i s a llow s fo r th e b e s t p o s s ib le f i d e l i t y

d u rin g re c o rd in g and playback*

7) In th e s e c t io n of sw itch es which c o n tro ls th e ta p e

d e c k 's re c o rd in g fu n c t io n s , th e sw itch c o n t ro l l in g each chan­

n e l shou ld be s e t on th e S a fe , or P layback , s e t t in g * T his

w i l l p rev en t a p re - re c o rd e d channel on tap e from being e ra se d

even I f th e ta p e d e c k 's Record and P lay c o n tro ls a re engaged

s im u lta n e o u s ly . The re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s sw itches a ls o have

a Record s e t t i n g which p e rm its a g iven channel to be reco rd ed

Depending on th e ta p e deck b e in g u se d , th e re c o rd in g

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fu n c tio n s sw itch es may have a n o th e r p o s s ib le s e t t i n g , d e s ig ­

n a te d by one o f th e tra d e names f o r s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n i­

z a t io n - -S e l- sync , S y n c ro - tra k , S im u l-sync, e t c . However, a

s e p a ra te s e t of sw itch es f o r th e s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n

p ro ce ss may be found in an o th e r a rea on th e ta p e deck.

S e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n i s d isc u sse d in th e fo llo w in g

chap ter*

8 ) In th e s e c t io n of sw itch es which c o n tro ls th e ta p e

d eck ’s p lay b ack o r m o n ito r fu n c t io n s , th e sw itch c o n t ro l l in g

each channel should be s e t on Source or In p u t. The Source

s e t t i n g a llow s f o r th e m o n ito rin g o f a s ig n a l coming in to

th e deck th ro u g h th e l in e in p u ts o r th e m icrophone in p u ts .

The o th e r s e t t i n g f o r th e s e sw itc h e s , la b e le d Tape or Tape

m o n ito r , p e rm its th e m o n ito rin g of a s ig n a l which has been

reco rd ed on tape* During th e re c o rd in g p ro c e s s , th e se

sw itch es may be changed back and f o r th from Source to Tape

to allow f o r a d i r e c t com parison o f th e incom ing s ig n a l

b e fo re and a f t e r i t i s reco rd ed on ta p e .

9) The knobs which c o n tro l the re c o rd in g le v e l o f th e

ta p e d e c k ’s l in e In p u ts and m icrophone In p u ts shou ld be s e t

a t t h e i r low est l e v e l .

10) The knobs which c o n tro l th e p layback le v e l o f the

ta p e deck sh o u ld be s e t a t t h e i r low est l e v e l .

11) The s ig n a l from the s y n th e s iz e r which i s to be

reco rd ed shou ld be connected to th e l in e in p u t o f th e d e s ire d

channel on th e tap e deck. Then, th e knob which c o n tro ls th e

in p u t le v e l o f the channel to which th e s ig n a l from th e

23

s y n th e s iz e r i s connected should be slow ly tu rn e d to th e

r i g h t . As t h i s o c c u rs , th e VU m eter which co rresponds to

th e channel b e in g used w i l l b eg in to r e g i s t e r th e incoming

s ig n a l . The in p u t l e v e l knob shou ld be tu rn e d to th e r ig h t

u n t i l th e VU m eter re a d s 0 db.

The le v e l on th e VU m e ter in d ic a te s th e amount o f s ig ­

n a l which i s b e in g pu t on ta p e du rin g th e re c o rd in g p rocess#

I f to o much s ig n a l i s pu t on th e ta p e , d i s t o r t i o n w i l l

occur# I f to o l i t t l e s ig n a l I s pu t on ta p e , th e r e s id u a l

h i s s o f th e ta p e i t s e l f w i l l become o b tru s iv e in s o f t p a s­

sages# T h e re fo re , i t i s n e c e ssa ry to pu t as much s ig n a l as

p o s s ib le on ta p e w ithou t cau sin g d i s t o r t i o n in o rd e r to have

th e b e s t p o s s ib le s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t i o . T h e o r e t ic a l ly , a t

a 0 db VU m eter re a d in g , th e maximum re c o rd in g le v e l has

been reach ed b e fo re d i s t o r t i o n w i l l o ccu r. However, most

good q u a l i ty ta p e decks can be "pushed” beyond a 0 db VU

re a d in g b e fo re d i s t o r t i o n w i l l o ccu r, th e re b y in c re a s in g th e

s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t i o . I t i s n e c e ssa ry to experim ent w ith

v a r io u s re c o rd in g le v e ls from a 0 db VU re a d in g up to a +3

db VU read in g and beyond to f in d th e optimum re c o rd in g le v e l

f o r a g iven ta p e deck# During t h i s ex p e rim en ta tio n , th e

n e e d le s of th e VU m eter should n o t be c o n t in u a l ly pinned to

th e r i g h t , as t h i s could damage th e VU m e te r. The optimum

re c o rd in g le v e l should be s e t f o r th e lo u d e s t in p u t s ig n a l

e n te r in g th e ta p e deck, n o t an average s ig n a l le v e l .

12) U sing a 0 db VU read in g as th e optimum s e t t i n g fo r

th e moment, th e sw itch in th e re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s s e c t io n

2k

which c o n tro ls th e channel In use shou ld be s e t on Record*

Then, a t th e same tim e , th e Record and P lay c o n tro ls shou ld

be engaged, cau sin g th e ta p e to move p a s t th e ta p e heads and

be recorded*

13) I f d e s i r e d , th e volume o f th e s ig n a l b e in g reco rd ed

may be a l t e r e d by changing th e s e t t i n g o f th e re c o rd in g

le v e l knob, as long as th e peak o r h ig h e s t p e rm is s ib le

re c o rd in g le v e l ( th e optimum s e t t i n g on th e VU m eter) i s no t

su rpassed* W hile r e c o rd in g , th e ta p e m otion may be stopped

and s t a r t e d th ro u g h th e u se o f a Pause c o n tro l w ith o u t d i s ­

engag ing th e re c o rd in g p ro c e s s , I f th e deck o f fe r s t h i s

fe a tu re * The ta p e m otion may be stopped and th e deck d i s ­

engaged from th e re c o rd in g p ro cess th rough th e use o f th e

S top co n tro l*

llj.) P layback I s accom plished as fo llow s* The R everse

c o n t ro l sh o u ld be engaged, cau sin g th e ta p e to be rewound*

Then th e S top c o n tro l should be engaged, h a l t in g th e tap e

a t th e p o in t a t which re c o rd in g began* The re c o rd in g func­

t io n s sw itc h fo r th e reco rd ed channel shou ld be s e t back to

P layback (o r Safe) from Record, and th e m on ito r sw itch fo r

th e reco rd ed channel shou ld be sw itched from Source to Tape*

The P lay c o n tro l shou ld th en be engaged and th e knob which

c o n tro ls th e p layback le v e l of th e reco rd ed channel should

be tu rn e d to th e r ig h t so th e reco rd ed s ig n a l may be heard*

The p layback le v e l should be a d ju s te d so th a t th e reco rd ed

s ig n a l I s c l e a r ly h ea rd bu t th e r e s id u a l n o ise o f th e ta p e

i t s e l f I s In au d ib le*

25

15) The e ra s e head o f a g iv en channel o p e ra te s w h ile

th e channel i s b e in g re c o rd e d , e ra s in g th e ta p e b e fo re i t

c ro s s e s th e re c o rd head* T h e re fo re , e r a s in g a g iv e n channel

i s ach iev ed by s e t t i n g th e re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s sw itch o f th e

channel t o R ecord, s e t t i n g th e re c o rd in g le v e l knobs of th e

channel ( f o r bo th th e m icrophone and l in e In p u ts ) to t h e i r

lo w est l e v e l s , and s im u lta n eo u s ly engaging th e Record and

P lay c o n t r o ls . T h is p u ts th e ta p e deck In to th e re c o rd in g

o p e ra t io n b u t s in c e no s ig n a l I s In tro d u ced to th e ta p e , th e

ta p e I s sim ply erased*

Bulk ta p e e r a s in g d ev ices which can e ra se an e n t i r e

r e e l o f ta p e In a few seconds a re a v a ila b le * These can save

tim e and u n n ecessa ry wear and t e a r on th e tap e deck b e in g

u se d .

I I . OVERDTTBBING TECHNIQUES

Sound-over-sound , sound-w ith -sound , sound-on-sound ,

and s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n a re overdubbing te ch n iq u e s

u sed to sy n ch ro n ize a n d /o r mix m u sica l m a te r ia ls on tap e

w ith o u t th e u se o f e x te r n a l m ixing d e v ic e s .

Sound-over-sound i s ach iev ed th e fo llo w in g way. A s e t

o f m u s ica l m a te r ia ls i s reco rd ed on a s in g le ch an n e l. The

e ra s e head s ta c k i s th e n tu rn e d o f f , i f t h i s i s p o s s ib le , o r

s h ie ld e d from th e re c o rd in g ta p e . T his s h ie ld in g may be done

by co v e rin g th e e ra s e head s ta c k w ith som ething s im ila r t o a

p ie c e o f p h o to g rap h ic f i lm . A nother s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls

i s th e n reco rd ed on th e same ch an n e l. When th e second s e t of

m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s reco rd ed over th e f i r s t , th e f i r s t s e t

o f m u s ica l m a te r ia ls lo s e s much of I t s f i d e l i t y , p a r t i c u l a r l y

I t s upper f r e q u e n c ie s . A lso , when u s in g t h i s p rocedu re i t

i s d i f f i c u l t to sy n ch ro n ize th e two s e ts of m u sica l m a te r ia ls

w ith one a n o th e r . However, i f th e f i r s t s e t o f m u sica l

m a te r ia ls can w ith s ta n d a c e r t a in amount of d e te r io r a t io n of

I t s f i d e l i t y , and th e two s e ts o f m a te r ia ls do n o t r e q u ire

e x a c t sy n c h ro n iz a tio n , th e r e s u l t s of t h i s p rocedure may p ro ­

v id e a u s e f u l b len d o f th e two s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s .

Sound-w lth-sound in v o lv es th e use of two o r more sep ­

a r a te c h a n n e ls . However, th e r e s u l t s o b ta in ed from th e

26

27

sound-w ith -sound procedure v a ry , depending on w hether o r no t

th e ta p e deck b e in g used has s e p a ra te re c o rd and p layback

heads* Assuming th e deck has a s in g le head which se rv es f o r

b o th th e re c o rd and p layback fu n c t io n s , sound-w ith-sound is

accom plished in th e fo llo w in g m anner. A s e t of m u sica l m a te r­

i a l s i s reco rd ed on one channel* The tap e i s th e n rewound,

and w h ile th e f i r s t channel i s b e in g p layed back , a second

s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s synch ron ized w ith i t and is

re co rd ed on a second channel* T his r e s u l t s in two s e p a ra te

ch an n e ls o f m u s ic a l m a te r ia ls in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith one

a n o th e r , w ith no lo s s of f i d e l i t y t o e i t h e r channel* I f th e

two s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls need to be sy nch ron ized a t

t h e i r b e g in n in g s , cues p reced in g th e f i r s t s e t o f m u sica l

m a te r ia l s may be used to p ro v id e f o r t h i s sy n c h ro n iza tio n *

These cues shou ld be reco rd ed along w ith th e f i r s t s e t of

m u sica l m a te r ia ls* Cues may a ls o be used w ith th e sound-on-

sound and s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n p ro ced u re s , and can l a t e r

be s p l ic e d out o f th e ta p e o r e ra s e d .

The same sound-w ith-sound p rocedu re may be fo llow ed

u s in g a ta p e deck w ith s e p a ra te re co rd and p layback heads*

However, though d u rin g th e re c o rd in g of th e second s e t of

m u sica l m a te r ia ls w ith th e f i r s t th e two s e ts of m a te r ia ls

sound in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith one a n o th e r , on th e playback

o f b o th ch a n n e ls , th e second s e t of m a te r ia ls sounds l a t e r

th a n th e f i r s t and th e two channels a re out of sy n ch ro n iza ­

tio n * T h is d e lay o ccu rs because th e f i r s t s e t o f m usica l

m a te r ia ls i s m onito red from th e p layback head s ta c k w hile

28

th e second s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s b e in g reco rd ed a t

th e re c o rd head s ta c k . S ince th e p layback head s ta c k Is an

in c h o r two to th e r i g h t o f th e re c o rd head s ta c k , th e f i r s t

s e t o f m u s ic a l m a te r ia ls i s a lre a d y p a s t th e re c o rd head

s ta c k when i t i s m on ito red f o r sy n c h ro n iz a tio n p u rp o ses .

S u b seq u en tly th e second s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s reco rd ed

l a t e and i s o u t o f sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith th e f i r s t s e t of

m u sica l m a te r ia ls by th e amount of tim e i t ta k e s a g iven

sound on th e ta p e to move betw een th e re c o rd and p layback

head s ta c k s . Sound-on-sound and s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n

a re two p ro ced u res which r e s u l t in th e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n of

two o r more s e ts o f m usica l m a te r ia ls when used w ith tap e

decks h av in g s e p a ra te re co rd and p layback head s ta c k s .

Sound-on-sound i s accom plished as fo llo w s . A s e t of

m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s reco rd ed on one ch an n e l. The ou tpu t

( l in e - o u t ) o f t h i s p re - re c o rd e d channel i s connected to th e

l in e in p u t o f a b lan k ch an n e l. The o u tp u t from th e sy n th e ­

s i z e r which c a r r i e s an o th e r s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s a ls o

connected to th e in p u t o f th e b lank ch an n e l. T his may be

done by u s in g a Y ty p e co n n ec to r to " s p l i t " th e l in e in p u t

o f th e b lan k channel in to two s e p a ra te in p u ts . The p layback

le v e ls o f th e p re -re c o rd e d channel and th e new s e t o f

incom ing m u sica l m a te r ia ls from th e s y n th e s iz e r should be

s e t . Then, th e reco rd fu n c tio n s sw itch of th e b lank channel

shou ld be s e t t o re co rd and a "d ry run" should be made,

p la y in g back th e p re - re c o rd e d channel and in tro d u c in g th e

new s e t o f m usical m a te r ia ls w hile s e t t i n g th e optimum

29

re c o rd in g le v e l f o r th e "b lank" ch an n e l. Once t h i s re c o rd in g

le v e l i s e s ta b l i s h e d , th e ta p e shou ld be rewound and th e

p ro c e s s r e p e a te d , th e second s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls (mon­

i to r e d from t h e i r so u rce ) b e in g sy nch ron ized w ith th e m a te r­

i a l s on th e p re -re c o rd e d channel (m onitored from th e p la y ­

back h ead ) and bo th reco rd ed on th e b lan k ch an n e l. Once two

s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls a re on one ch an n e l, th e y may be

combined w ith a n o th e r s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls u s in g th e

above p ro ced u re . These th r e e may be reco rd ed back onto the

o r ig in a l channel o r on to a n o th e r ch an n e l, i f fo u r channels

a re a v a i la b le .

However, each tim e a p re -re c o rd e d channel i s dubbed

(re co rd ed ) on to a n o th e r ch a n n e l, th e tap e h i s s , wow and

f l u t t e r , and d i s t o r t i o n from th e p re -re c o rd e d channel accum­

u la t e on th e new ch an n e l. Also th e re I s some lo s s o f h ig h

f re q u e n c ie s in th e s e t o f p re -re c o rd e d m a te r ia l s . Though

a l l o f th e s e may a t f i r s t be in a u d ib le , w ith th e s e v e ra l

su c c e s s iv e dubs n ec e ssa ry to combine th re e o r more ch a n n e ls ,

th e y can r a p id ly become a u d ib le , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e ta p e h i s s .

A la rg e amount o f ta p e h i s s can be q u i te d is tu rb in g should

th e f i n a l copy of th e tap e be p layed a t th e loud l i s t e n in g

le v e ls n e c e ss a ry in a co n ce rt s i t u a t i o n .

Sound-on-sound may be in t e r n a l ly w ired on some ta p e

d ec k s , removing th e need f o r hav ing to make th e v a rio u s con­

n e c tio n s e x te r n a l ly .

Sound-on-sound may a lso be accom plished w ith th e use

o f two ta p e decks. Both m achines should be th read ed w ith

30

ta p e and a s e t o f m u s ica l m a te r ia ls shou ld be reco rd ed on

one channel on one o f th e decks* Then, a n o th e r s e t o f mus­

i c a l m a te r ia ls may be combined w ith th e f i r s t a t th e l in e

in p u t o f a b la n k channel on th e o th e r debk, and th e two s e ts

o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls sy n ch ro n ized and reco rd ed on th e b lank

c h an n e l.

The d isa d v an ta g es o f th e sound-on-sound p rocedure In

la y e r in g many s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be avo ided by

th e p ro ced u re known as s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n . The s e le c ­

t i v e s y n c h ro n iz a tio n of v a r io u s s e ts of m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s

ach iev ed in th e fo llo w in g manner. A s e t of m u sica l m a te r ia ls

i s re co rd ed on a d e s ire d ch a n n e l. The ta p e I s rewound and

th e sw itc h which c o n tro ls th e re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s of th e

re c o rd e d channel i s sw itched to th e S e le c t iv e S y n ch ro n iza tio n

s e t t i n g (o r one o f i t s t r a d e names—S e1-sync, S y n c ro - tra k ,

S lm u l-sy n c , e t c . ) . I f th e sw itch es c o n t ro l l in g th e s e le c ­

t i v e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n fu n c tio n a re s e p a ra te from th e re c o rd in g

fu n c tio n s sw itc h e s , th e re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s sw itch of th e r e ­

corded channel shou ld be s e t on P layback (or S a fe ) , and th e

s e l e c t i v e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n sw itch fo r th e reco rd ed channel

shou ld be tu rn e d on. The rem ain ing s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n

sw itch es shou ld be p la ced In th e o f f p o s i t io n . T h is a c t i ­

v a te s a c i r c u i t which causes th e reco rd head ( in th e rec o rd

head s ta c k ) which co rresponds to th e reco rd ed channel to

fu n c tio n as a p layback head and a t th e same tim e sw itch es

o f f th e p layback head ( in th e p layback head s ta c k ) which

co rresp o n d s to the reco rd ed ch an n e l. T h e re fo re , d u rin g

31

p la y b ack , th e reco rd ed channel w i l l be m on ito red from th e

re c o rd head s ta c k . However, th e o th e r heads in th e re c o rd

head s ta c k w i l l s t i l l fu n c tio n as re c o rd h ea d s . At t h i s

p o in t , th e sw itc h which c o n tro ls th e p layback o r m o n ito rin g

fu n c tio n s o f th e reco rd ed channel shou ld be sw itched to th e

Tape s e t t i n g . Then, th e s ig n a l o u tp u t from th e s y n th e s iz e r

sh o u ld be connected to th e l in e in p u t o f a b lan k ch an n e l,

th e re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s sw itc h f o r th e b lank channel s e t to

R ecord , th e p layback fu n c tio n s sw itch f o r th e b lank channel

s e t t o S o u rce , th e optimum re c o rd in g le v e l of th e b lan k chan­

n e l a p p r o p r ia te ly s e t , and th e Record and P lay c o n tro ls on

th e ta p e deck engaged s im u lta n e o u s ly . Now, th o se m a te r ia ls

on th e p re - re c o rd e d ch an n el w i l l be p lay ed back , and a new .

s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be reco rd ed in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n

w ith them . U sing a quadraphonic ta p e deck which o f f e r s th e

s e l e c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n f e a tu r e , up to fo u r s e p a ra te s e ts

o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s may be reco rd ed in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith

each o th e r by fo llo w in g th e above p ro ced u re .

Because th e heads used f o r th e p layback and reco rd

fu n c tio n s d u rin g th e s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n p rocedu re a re

in th e same head s ta c k , th e r e s u l t in g reco rd ed channels w i l l

be in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith one a n o th e r when m onitored th rough

th e p layback head s ta c k . S ince each s e t o f m usica l m a te r ia ls

i s reco rd e d o n ly once and rem ains on i t s o r ig in a l ch an n e l,

th e f i d e l i t y o f th e ta p e i s n o t degraded in any way. However,

due to th e d if f e r e n c e s between th e reco rd and p layback h ead s ,

a re c o rd head used as a p layback head w i l l p layback w ith a

32

c o n s id e ra b le lo s s o f h ig h f re q u e n c ie s . While t h i s i s ade­

q u a te f o r s y n c h ro n is a tio n d u rin g th e s e le c t iv e sy n ch ro n iza ­

t io n p ro ced u re , i t i s n o t o f s u f f i c i e n t f i d e l i t y to be used

f o r norm al p lay b ack p u rp o s e s .5 For norm al p layback purposes

th e ta p e shou ld be m on ito red th rough th e p layback head s ta c k .

Sound-on-sound and s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n may be

u sed to g e th e r to produce more th a n fo u r la y e r s o f m u sica l

m a te r ia l s . However, because o f th e problem s r e s u l t in g from

th e sound-on-sound p ro ced u re , th e number o f tim es a s e t of

m u s ica l m a te r ia ls i s moved from one channel on ta p e to

a n o th e r sh o u ld be l im i te d . In t h e i r a r t i c l e on m u l t i - t r a c k

r e c o rd in g , W alte r C arlo s and Benjamin Polkman su g g est th a t

no s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls be removed from i t s f i n a l r e s u l t

by more th a n th re e g e n e ra t io n s .^ As C arlo s and Folkman a re

r e f e r r in g to re c o rd in g s made w ith p ro fe s s io n a l equipm ent of

e x c e l le n t q u a l i ty , I t cou ld be su g g ested th a t i f sem i-p ro ­

f e s s io n a l equipm ent i s to be u se d , a s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls

sh o u ld n o t be moved from channel to channel more th a n tw ice

(a once reco rd ed ch an n el would be moved only one tim e ,

le a v in g a f i n a l p o s s ib le "dub down” f o r s e t t in g th e f i n a l

b a lan ce betw een th e v a r io u s ch a n n e ls , e t c . ) . However, th e

d e c is io n o f how many tim es a s e t of m u s ic a l m a te r ia ls may be

moved from channel to channel depends on a com poser's

?For a method o f producing h ig h q u a l i ty p layback th ro u g h a re c o rd h ead , s e e : W alter C arlos and BenjaminFolkman, "M ulti-T rack R ecording in E le c tro n ic M usic," E le c ­t r o n ic Music Review, VI (A p r il , 1968), p . 23.

6 I b i d . , p . 21 .

33

judgement as to what i s an a c c e p ta b le s lg n a l - to - n o l s e r a t i o . 7

Assuming th a t s e m i-p ro fe s s io n a l equipm ent i s to be

u s e d , and th a t no reco rd ed s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s t o be

moved from channel to channel more th a n once , i t i s p o s s ib le

w ith a quadraphonic ta p e deck f e a tu r in g s e le c t iv e synchro ­

n i s a t io n t o ach iev e seven sy n ch ro n ized la y e r s o f m u sica l

m a te r i a l s . In F igu re 8 , i t I s shown th a t th re e s e t s o f mus­

i c a l m a te r ia l s a re re co rd ed in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith each

o th e r on t r a c k s I , I I , and I I I , u s in g th e p rocedure f o r

s e l e c t iv e s y n c h ro n iz a tio n . T hese , p lu s an o th e r s e t o f mus­

i c a l m a te r ia l s a re th e n reco rd ed In sy n c h ro n iz a tio n on t r a c k

IV , u s in g th e p rocedu re f o r sound-on-sound. Three more s e ts

o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls a re th e n sy n ch ron ized w ith th e m a te r ia ls

on t r a c k IV, and re c o rd e d on t r a c k s I , I I , and I I I , u s in g

a32 © aJ

© a as

F ig . 8 . —The sy n c h ro n iz a tio n o f seven s e ts o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s on fo u r t r a c k s .

?The re c e n t developm ent o f r e l a t i v e l y in ex p en siv e n o is e - re d u c tIo n u n i t s p ro v id es th e p o s s i b i l i t y of im proving th e s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t i o o f s e m i-p ro fe s s io n a l equipment by as much as 10 db. A d e s c r ip t io n of one such d e v ic e , a Dolby n o ise re d u c tio n u n i t , may be found in "Equipment T est R e p o r ts ," S te re o Review, V ol. 25, No. I4. (O ctober, 1970), pp. 37 and l».0. A lso , more in fo rm a tio n may be found in "The New N olse-R eduction U n i ts ," S te re o Review, V ol. 27# No. 6 (Decem­b e r , 1971)# P* 63-69 .

, . -

I 1 5 - ♦ 5

I 2 £ - ■> (0

I 3 7 —* 7

n 3.4 •k.1

31+

th e p rocedu re f o r s e l e c t iv e s y n c h ro n iz a tio n . More s e t s o f

m u s ic a l m a te r ia ls cou ld n o t be synch ron ized w ith one a n o th e r

w ith o u t u s in g th e re c o rd head f o r norm al p layback purposes

on a t l e a s t one o f th e fo u r t r a c k s .

I f a q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic ta p e deck and a q u a r­

t e r - t r a c k s te r e o d eck , bo th u t i l i z i n g one q u a r te r inch ta p e ,

a r e u sed to la y e r s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s , up t o e ig h t

la y e r s o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be synch ron ized w ith no

reco rd ed s e t o f m a te r ia l s b e in g moved from channel to channel

more th a n once. T h is p ro cess avoids th e problem of hav ing

t o sy n ch ro n ize ta p e decks. In F ig u re 9 , i t I s shown th a t

fo u r s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls a re reco rd ed In sy n ch ro n iza ­

t io n w ith one a n o th e r on th e quadraphonic deck, u s in g th e

I i

E zin 3

IZ 4

i1.43,4,5 I 3.4,5

n £in 7n S

F ig . 9 . —The sy n c h ro n iz a tio n o f e ig h t s e ts o f m u s ica l m a te r ia l s u s in g bo th a quadraphonic and a s te re o ta p e deck.

p ro ced u re f o r s e le c t iv e sy n c h ro n iz a tio n . Then, th e se fo u r

p lu s a f i f t h s e t o f m a te r ia ls from th e s y n th e s iz e r a re syn­

ch ro n ized and reco rd ed on th e f i r s t t r a c k o f th e s te re o

d eck , u s in g th e sound-on-sound p ro ced u re . S ince th e head

fo rm a ts o f th e two decks a re co m p atib le , th e ta p e from th e

s te r e o deck i s p la c e d on th e quadraphonic deck and th e

35

rem ain in g th r e e s e t s o f m a te r ia ls a re reco rd ed in sy n ch ro n i­

s a t io n w ith th e f i r s t f iv e , u s in g th e p rocedure f o r s e le c t iv e

s y n c h ro n is a tio n . I f more th a n one ta p e deck were used and a

re co rd e d s e t o f m usioal m a te r ia ls co u ld be moved from oh&n-

n e l t o ch an n el more th a n once , many more la y e rs of m u sica l

m a te r ia l s cou ld be sy n ch ro n ized w ith one a n o th e r .

B esid es th e c o n s id e ra t io n o f g e n e ra l ta p e q u a l i ty

(freq u en cy re sp o n se , s lg n a l - to - n o ls e r a t i o , e t c . ) th e re a re

o th e r p o t e n t i a l problem s which may a r i s e from or d u rin g th e

u se o f overdubbing p ro c e d u re s . For In s ta n c e , i f a channel

co u ld be m o n ito red th ro u g h i t s re c o rd head f o r norm al p la y ­

back p u rp o se s , more s e t s o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s could be syn­

ch ro n iz ed w ith one a n o th e r . However, as m entioned on page

32 , t h i s ty p e o f m o n ito rin g u s u a l ly in v o lv es a c o n s id e ra b le

lo s s o f h ig h f re q u e n c ie s . A lso , more s e ts o f m usica l m a te r­

i a l s cou ld be sy n ch ro n ized i f th e ta p e decks being used

cou ld be sy n ch ro n ized . T h is u s u a l ly r e q u ire s v a r ia b le speed

c o n t ro ls and some p r a c t i c e . There a re o th e r c o n s id e ra tio n s

b e s id e s th e number o f la y e r s o f re co rd ed m a te r ia l s . For

exam ple, i f a s e c t io n of one t r a c k i s reco rd ed and a n o th e r

s e c t io n of th e same tr a c k i s to be reco rd ed l a t e r , th e re

must be enough room between th e s e c t io n s to avo id an acc id e n ­

t a l e ra s u re o f p a r t of th e f i r s t s e c t io n . A lso , some

sw itc h in g p ro ced u res (such as changing a re c o rd in g fu n c tio n s

sw itc h from P layback to Record) may cause c l ic k s o r pops on

th e ta p e i f th e tap e i s i n m otion . T his should be avoided

u n le s s such unwanted n o ise s can be s p lic e d o u t.

36

The u se of s p l i c in g and s p a t i a l p lacem ent of sound

must be co n s id e re d as w e ll . S p lic in g r e q u ir e s c u t t in g

a c ro s s th e e n t i r e ta p e . T h e re fo re I f th e m a te r ia ls on one

t r a c k need to be s p l ic e d to o th e r m a te r ia ls w h ile th e m a te r­

i a l s on th e rem ain ing t r a c k s shou ld be co n tin u o u s , th e

s p l i c in g shou ld ta k e p la c e b e fo re th e v a r io u s s e t s of m ater­

i a l s a re la y e re d to g e th e r . S p a t ia l placem ent I s d isc u sse d

In C hap ter IV .

I l l , TECHNIQUES FOR EDITING, SPLICING. AND SPadlAL fePFEdfrSt'

E d itin g and S p lic in g Techniques

Tape e d i t in g I s a g e n e ra l term f o r th e o rg a n iz a tio n of

m a te r ia l s which a re a lre a d y reco rd ed on ta p e . S p lic in g is

th e r e f o r e a b a s ic p a r t o f ta p e e d i t in g . S p lic in g i s used to

r e p a i r b roken tape* connect d e s ire d s e c t io n s of tape* remove

unwanted s e c t io n s o f tape* add le a d e r tape* make tap e loops*

e t c . The n e c e ssa ry equipment f o r e d i t in g and s p l ic in g

In c lu d e s a s p l i c in g b lo ck or jig* dem agnetized sh a rp and

d u l l r a z o r b lades* good q u a l i ty s p l ic in g tape* a c le a n p la ce

to w ork, and a ta p e deck . Both p ap er and p l a s t i c le a d e r

ta p e s a re a l s o u s e f u l .

There a re s e v e r a l ty p es o f s p l ic in g b locks o r j ig s .

The s im p le s t type c o n s is ts o f a b lock o r p iece o f aluminum

which has a p a th a c ro s s i t f o r the ta p e to l i e in . Across

t h i s ta p e p a th a re s e v e ra l c u t t in g g u id es o r s lo ts * u s u a lly

a t 1j5 90 degree an g le s to th e ta p e p a th edge. In h is

a r t i c l e on s p l ic in g ta p e s in Audio magazine* Andrew Persoon

says th e id e a l s p l i c in g ang le I s from to 60 degrees.® As

th e an g le o f cu t In c re a s e s beyond 60 d e g re e s , th e ab ru p t

change in th e m agnetic p a r t i c l e s on th e ta p e which occurs a t

^Andrew H. Persoon . " S p lic in g Tapes*" Audio, Vol.51̂ * No. 1 (January* 1970), pp. 28-29.

37

38

th e s p l i c e causes a pop o r c l i c k to .b e h ea rd on p lay b ack .

I f th e an g le o f th e s p l ic e i s below i|5 d eg ree s , th e p o in te d

ends o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e may p e e l back from th e s p l ic in g

tape* F or th e se re a s o n s , th e lj.5 degree c u t t in g angle I s

most o f te n used f o r norm al s p l io in g p u rp o ses . The s p l ic in g

b lo ck may a ls o have arms o r c l ip s to h o ld th e ends o f th e

re c o rd in g ta p e in p la c e d u rin g th e s p l i c in g p ro ced u re .

A somewhat d i f f e r e n t s p l ic in g j ig i s known as th e

"Gibson G ir l" type* I t a l s o has a p a th f o r th e ta p e to l i e

i n and arms to h o ld th e ta p e in p la c e , b u t has b u i l t - i n c u t­

t e r s to make th e 1̂ 5 deg ree ang le s p l i c in g cu t and to tr im

th e edges o f th e com pleted sp lic e * T his ty p e of s p l i c e r i s

u s e f u l f o r a l l bu t th e trim m ing p ro ced u re , which I s d isc u sse d

below*

The r a z o r b la d e used f o r c u t t in g th e ta p e on a sim ple

s p l ic in g b lo ck sh o u ld be dem agnetized . I f i t i s n o t , i t

w i l l s l i g h t l y m agnetize th e ends of th e tap e being s p lic e d

to g e th e r and cause a c l ic k o r pop on th e ta p e d u rin g p la y ­

back* A d u l l r a z o r b lad e may be used fo r s e p a ra t in g an

a lre a d y com pleted s p l i c e . T h is may be done by s l id in g i t

tinder th e edge o f th e s p l ic in g tap e which h o ld s th e s p l ic e

to g e th e r , and g e n t ly p e e lin g th e s p l ic in g tap e o f f th e

re c o rd in g ta p e .

The ad h esiv e ta p e u sed f o r s p l i c in g should be s p e c i f ­

i c a l l y d esig n ed f o r th a t pu rpose . O ther ty p e s of ad h esiv e

ta p e s shou ld n o t be used because th ey w i l l no t perform s a t i s ­

f a c t o r i l y . A ccording t o Persoon, s p l ic in g tap e Is designed

39

t o be t h i n b u t s t r o n g , have a minimum of "ad h esiv e e scap e”

around I t s ed g es , and l a s t an I n d e f in i t e p e r io d of tim e . I t

h a s th r e e ad h esiv e q u a l i t i e s , sh e a r ad h esio n , p e e l back

ad h e s io n , and "wet g r a b .”9

S hear ad h esio n r e s i s t s a g a in s t th e norm al p u l l o r te n ­

s io n on th e ta p e caused by th e t r a n s p o r t mechanism of a ta p e

deck . Lack o f sh e a r ad h esio n may cause a s p l i c e to g ra d ­

u a l ly p u l l a p a r t o r " c r e e p ,” p roducing a gap between th e two

ends o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e which a re s p l ic e d to g e th e r . Peel

back ad h es io n r e s i s t s a g a in s t th e s p l ic in g tap e b e in g p ee led

away from a s u r fa c e i t i s adhered t o —n o rm ally th e re c o rd in g

ta p e . P ee l back i s o f te n caused when th e ta p e bends around

a ta p e gu ide in i t s p a th on a ta p e deck. "Vet g ra b ” i s the

s t i c k in e s s o f th e s p l i c in g ta p e I t s e l f , and a c tu a l ly has

l i t t l e b e a r in g on th e o th e r two f a c t o r s . However, a s p l ic in g

ta p e which i s e x c e s s iv e ly s t ic k y may ooze around i t s edges

and damage th e la y e r s o f ta p e Im m ediately n ex t to th e s p l i c e .

Because a l l s p l i c in g ta p e s may ooze or "b leed " s l i g h t l y over

a long p e rio d o f tim e , th e w id th of th e s p l ic in g ta p e should

be s l i g h t l y le s s th a n th a t o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e to be

s p l i c e d . T h is w i l l h e lp to keep th e adhesive from b in d in g

many la y e r s o f ta p e to g e th e r should th e s p l ic in g tap e b le e d .

The 7 /32 inch s p l i c in g ta p e w id th i s g e n e ra lly co n s id e red

th e b e s t f o r u se w ith l / k in ch ta p e . In h i s "Tape H orizons"

column in th e F eb ru a ry , 1970, is s u e of S te re o Review. C raig

9 ib id .

S ta rk su g g e s ts t h i s problem may be so lv ed by rubb ing a

s t i c k y s p l i c e w ith ta lcum powder, being c a r e f u l to remove

th e ex cess t a l c to keep i t from fo u lin g th e ta p e h e a d s . 10

The lo n g e r th e p ie c e of s p l ic in g ta p e used on a s p l i c e ,

th e b e t t e r ad h esio n i t h a s . T h is i s p a r t i c u l a r ly t r u e of

i t s p e e l back a d h es io n . T h e re fo re , th e sm a lle r th e ra d iu s

o f th e bends which o ccu r in th e tap e p a th , th e lo n g e r th e

s p l i c e sh o u ld be. However, because th e reco rd ed m a te r ia l In

th e a re a where th e s p l i c in g ta p e i s bonded to th e re c o rd in g

ta p e h a s a drop in i t s o u tp u t le v e l from two to fo u r d e c ib e ls

a s p l i c e sh o u ld be no lo n g er th a n i s r e a l l y n e c e s s a ry . 11

The hands shou ld be c le a n d u rin g th e s p l i c in g p rocedure

Any d i r t o r o i l on th e re c o rd in g ta p e can cause a drop in

th e o u tp u t o f a re co rd ed s ig n a l by s e v e ra l d e c ib e ls . A lso ,

d i r t on th e ad h esiv e back ing o f th e s p l i c in g ta p e reduces

th e s t r e n g th o f th e s p l i c e .

L eader ta p e may be s p l ic e d on to th e ends o f a r e e l of

ta p e to p r o te c t them from th e bending th ey re c e iv e d u rin g

th re a d in g and from th e b a t te r in g th e y may re c e iv e on th e

com pletion o f f a s t fo rw ard and r e v e r s e . This a ls o allow s

10C ra ig S ta rk , "Tape H o riz o n s ," S te re o Review. Vol.2kp No. 2 (F eb ru ary , 1970), p . 129.

11In h is book E le c tro n ic Music (Dubuque, Iowa: V illia m C. Brown C o., 1972), pp. 10^ - lo £ , A llen S trange m entions th e s ig n a l lo s s caused by long s p l ic e s and sa y s , "The s h o r te r th e s p l i c e , th e b e t t e r . " T h is may be somewhat m is lead in g because th e le n g th o f a s p l i c e a lso depends on th e v a r io u s ad h esio n f a c to r s d isc u sse d above. From th e au th o r* s ex p e r­ie n c e , s p l i c e s about 3/k in c h or s l i g h t l y le s s in le n g th , made w ith good q u a l i ty s p l ic in g ta p e , w i l l ho ld s a t i s f a c t o r ­i l y . At a tap e speed o f 1$ ip s , such a s p l ic e when p ro p e r ly made w i l l be in a u d ib le .

u

more o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e to be u t i l i z e d . Leader ta p e may

a ls o be s p l ic e d in to a r e e l of ta p e to mark th e b eg in n in g s

and en d ings o f v a r io u s s e c t io n s o r to p ro v id e s e c tio n s of

s ile n c e * Paper le a d e r ta p e i s u s e f u l f o r s i l e n t a re a s

b ecau se u n lik e p l a s t i c le a d e r ta p e , i t w i l l n o t p ic k up

s t a t i c e l e c t r i c i t y which can cause a s l i g h t amount o f h i s s

d u r in g p lay b ack .

B efore th e s p l i c in g p rocedu re I s done, th e ex a c t

p o in ts on th e ta p e w hich a re to be s p l ic e d to g e th e r must be

found . T h is i s accom plished by p la y in g th e ta p e u n t i l th e

a re a t o be s p l ic e d i s reac h ed . The deck i s th e n stopped and

th e ta p e r e e l s moved by hand u n t i l th e d e s ire d p o in t on th e

ta p e i s h e a rd . T h is may ta k e some p r a c t ic e because th e

m u s ica l m a te r ia l s on ta p e w i l l sound d i s t o r t e d and much

low er in p i t c h th a n th e y n o rm ally do. On some ta p e decks,

th e ta p e l i f t e r s m ust be tu rn e d o f f d u rin g t h i s p rocedure so

th e ta p e w i l l r e s t a g a in s t th e heads and can be h e a rd . Some

decks a ls o p ro v id e an e d i t b u tto n which tu rn s o f f th e r e e l

m otors and b rak es and a llow s th e r e e l s to tu r n f r e e ly . A

few decks may re q u ir e th e tap e to be th re a d e d so i t does

n o t p ass betw een th e c a p s ta n and c a p s ta n r o l l e r and th e deck

to be p u t in th e p la y p o s i t io n in o rd e r f o r th e ta p e to be

h e a rd w hile i t i s b e in g moved by hand. Once th e d e s ire d

p o in t in th e reco rd ed m a te r ia l i s h ea rd , th e back o f th e

ta p e should be marked w ith a wax p e n c il o r f e l t t ip p e d pen

a t th e p o in t a t which i t c ro sse s th e gap in th e p layback

h ea d . The ta p e is th e n la id in th e s p l ic in g b lock w ith i t s

back s id e up and i s cu t a t a 1|5 degree an g le ac ro ss th e

p o in t marked on th e back o f th e ta p e . Then, th e o th e r p o in t

on th e ta p e which i s t o be s p l ic e d to th e one a lre a d y p re ­

p a red i s found i n th e same manner and i s a ls o cu t a t a l\$

deg ree a n g le . The two ends o f th e ta p e to be connected

sh o u ld th e n be p la ced in th e s p l ic in g b lock w ith t h e i r back

s id e s up and so th e y a re f lu s h and e x a c tly in l in e w ith

each o th e r . Then, a p ie c e of s p l i c in g ta p e ( s l i g h t l y n a r ­

row er th a n th e w id th o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e ) i s p laced over

them so i t does no t o v e rla p th e edges o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e ,

snd i s p re sse d down f i rm ly . Any sm all p a tch es of a i r o r a i r

b u b b le s betw een th e s p l ic in g ta p e and re c o rd in g ta p e shou ld

be removed by s l i d in g a p e n c i l e r a s e r o r f in g e r n a i l f irm ly

a c ro s s th e com pleted s p l i c e . I f th e ends of th e ta p e a re

m is a lig n e d , s l i g h t l y o v e rlap p ed , o r have a gap between them,

th e s p l i c e w i l l be a u d ib le , cau sin g a c l ic k o r sudden drop

in s ig n a l le v e l d u r in g p lay b ack .

I f th e s p l i c in g ta p e being used i s s l i g h t l y narrow er

th a n th e w id th o f th e re c o rd in g ta p e , th e re i s no need to

t r im th e s p l i c e . However, i f th e s p l ic in g ta p e i s sim ply

l a i d a c ro s s th e re c o rd in g ta p e , i t must be trim m ed. F ig u re

10 shows th re e d i f f e r e n t s p l i c e s . The f i r s t i s a s p l ic e

c o r r e c t ly made u s in g s p l ic in g ta p e s l i g h t l y narrow er th a n

th e re c o rd in g ta p e . The second i s a s p l ic e trimmed by one

of th e "Gibson G ir l" type s p l i c e r s . The trim m ing i s done in

th e shape of an hour g la s s which a c tu a l ly removes p a r t of

th e re c o rd in g ta p e . T his may a c tu a l ly cu t in to p a r t o f th e

k3

re co rd ed s ig n a l and a ls o allow s any ,!b le e d in g ” of ad h esiv e

from th e s p l i c in g ta p e easy access to th e a d ja c e n t la y e r s o f

t a p e . The t h i r d i s a c o r r e c t ly trimmed s p l i c e made w ith

s p l i c in g ta p e which covers th e f u l l w id th o f th e re c o rd in g

ta p e . The trim m ing may be done w ith a dem agnetised p a i r o f

s c i s s o r s o r r a z o r b la d e .

y!

/

P ig . 1 0 .—Three s p l ic e s h av in g d i f f e r e n t s p l i c in g ta p e w id ths o r trim m ings.

T here i s a n o th e r method f o r m arking th e p o in ts on th e

re c o rd in g ta p e to be cu t and s p l ic e d , known as o f f s e t e d i t

m ark ing . The d is ta n c e between th e p layback head gap and an

f ix e d tap e guide

P ig . 1 1 .— O ffse t e d i t m arking.

e a s i ly a c c e s s ib le f ix e d p o in t f u r th e r along th e ta p e p a th

(such as th e r ig h t edge of th e tap e head cover) I s measured

and th e n marked on th e s p l ic in g b lock (F igure 11 ). Then,

a f t e r th e p o in t a t which th e ta p e ia to be cu t i s heard* th e

ta p e may be e a s i ly marked a t th e f ix e d p o in t in th e ta p e p a th

and t h i s mark l in e d up w ith th e mark on th e s p l i c in g b lo c k .

The ta p e may th e n be cu t a t th e 1*5 degree an g le c u t t in g

guide* T his method i s advantageous because I t i s easy to use

and ta k e s l i t t l e time* F u rth e r* th e head cover need no t be

rem oved, and th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f s c ra tc h in g o r m arking th e

p lay b ack head s ta c k i s le sse n e d . A lso , i f th e head cover

does n o t need to be removed d u rin g th e s p l i c in g and e d i t in g

procedure* th e s p l ic in g b lock may be fa s te n e d to th e to p of

th e head cover* In t h i s p o s it io n * th e s p l i c in g b lock i s

c lo s e to th e ta p e and m inim izes th e need to remove th e tap e

r e e l s d u rin g th e s p l i c in g p rocess*

T echniques f o r S p e c ia l E f fe c ts

Tape re c o rd in g len d s i t s e l f to th e p ro d u c tio n o f spe­

c i a l sound e f f e c ts * These may p ro v id e sound m a te r ia ls f o r

u se i n e l e c t r o n ic music com position*

Sound R e v e rsa l

R eversing 8 reco rd ed sound i s achieved by p lay in g th e

ta p e backwards* U sing a h a l f - t r a c k s te re o tap e deck, t h i s

may be done by re c o rd in g a sound on th e f i r s t ( l e f t ) ch an n e l.

The ta k e up r e e l i s th e n tu rn ed over and p laced in th e p o s i­

t i o n of th e su p p ly r e e l . T his r e s u l t s in th e le ad in g and

t r a i l i n g ends o f th e ta p e being re v e rse d (th e back s id e of

th e re c o rd in g ta p e rem ains away from th e tap e h e a d s) . The

re v e rs e d sound i s heard by m on ito ring the second ( r ig h t )

ch an n e l o f th e ta p e deck . T his same p rocedu re may be used

w ith a q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic ta p e deck as w e ll . A

sound re c o rd e d on th e f i r s t channel would be m onitored by

th e f o u r th c h a n n e l, and v ic e v e r s a . A sound reco rd ed on th e

second channel would be m onitored on th e t h i r d c h an n e l, and

v ic e v e r s a .

Sound r e v e r s a l does no t work w ith a q u a r te r - t r a c k

s te r e o ta p e deck . I f a sound i s re co rd ed on e i t h e r th e l e f t

o r r ig h t ch an n els ( th e f i r s t and t h i r d t r a c k s on th e t a p e ) ,

and th e ta k e up r e e l i s tu rn e d over and p laced in th e p o s i­

t i o n o f th e supp ly r e e l , th e ta p e heads w i l l m on ito r th e

second and f o u r th t r a c k s of th e tap e and no sound w i l l be

h e a rd ( t h i s head fo rm at i s d e sc r ib e d on pages 11+ and 15)*

G ilb e r t T r y th a l l su g g e s ts some p o s s ib le e f f e c t s p ro ­

duced by sound r e v e r s a l , such as s p l lo ln g th e forw ard and

backward p o s i t io n s o f a ta p e d sound t o g e t h e r . ^ A nother type

o f sound r e v e r s a l e f f e c t i s produced by m o n ito rin g a ta p e

w h ile i t i s be in g rewound.

Channel ReV ersal

I t h as a lre a d y been n o ted in th e d is c u s s io n o f sound

r e v e r s a l t h a t sound r e v e r s a l produced by h a l f - t r a c k s te re o

and q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic decks r e s u l t s in th e reco rd ed

ch an n els being re v e rse d o r hav ing t h e i r p o s i t io n In re g a rd

to th e ta p e heads changed. Channel r e v e r s a l w ith o u t sound

r e v e r s a l may be accom plished by sim ply sw itch in g th e cords

12*Prythall, P r in c ip le s and P ra c t ic e of E le c tro n ic M usic, p . X2I+.

¥>

co n n e c tin g th e l in e o u tp u ts of th e ta p e deck to th e e x te r n a l

a m p lif ie r*

Tape R ev ersa l

Tape r e v e r s a l means tu rn in g over th e re c o rd in g ta p e

and p la y in g i t w ith i t s back o r re v e r s e s id e a g a in s t th e

ta p e h e a d s . T his causes th e reco rd ed m a te r ia ls to sound

m uted. Tape r e v e r s a l may be done by s p l ic in g a d e s ire d se c ­

t i o n o f ta p e in to a r e e l o f ta p e so i t s back s id e w i l l face

th e ta p e h e a d s . When th e ta p e i s kep t in i t s norm al d i r e c ­

t i o n , th e ta p e r e v e r s a l p rocedure r e s u l t s in th e same channel

r e v e r s a ls o r changes which o cc u rred in th e sound r e v e r s a l

p rocedure* I t may th e re fo r e be used w ith h a l f - t r a c k s te re o

o r q u a r te r - t r a c k quadraphonic ta p e decks (which shou ld be

m on ito red in th e ex ac t manner as in th e sound r e v e r s a l p ro ­

c e d u re ) , b u t no t w ith q u a r te r - t r a c k s te r e o decks* However,

i f ta p e r e v e r s a l and sound r e v e r s a l p ro ced u res a re done a t

th e same tim e , a l l th r e e ty p e s of decks may be used* The

reco rd ed m a te r ia ls shou ld th e n be m onito red from th e same

ch an n els on which th e y were reco rd ed .

M agnetic P a r t i c l e Removal

The m agnetic p a r t i c l e s on th e s id e of th e tap e which

n o rm a lly fa c e s th e ta p e heads may be removed to produce spe­

c i a l a r t i c u l a t i o n s and p e r io d s of s i l e n c e . T his may be done

by sc ra p in g o f f th e p a r t i c l e s w ith a d u l l r a z o r b lade o r

rem oving them w ith a c o t to n swab m oistened w ith a c e to n e .

A ccording to T r y th a l l , th e m agnetic p a r t i c l e s f,move f r e e ly

k l

around th e ta p e where sc ra p in g has o c c u rre d , and sc rap ed

ta p e s soon c o n ta in n o is e * n T r y th a l l su g g es ts th a t co p ie s of

such ta p e s shou ld be made soon a f t e r th e ta p e has been

sc ra p e d to p rev en t unwanted n o ise from ap p earin g l a t e r . He

a ls o s t a t e s t h a t when th e m agnetic p a r t i c l e s a re removed by

a c e to n e , l e s s n o ise i s produced*13

The Use o f D if fe re n t Tape Speeds

A s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be p lay ed a t ta p e speeds

f a s t e r o r s lo w er th a n th e speed a t which i t was o r ig in a l ly

re c o rd e d . I f t h i s speed i s tw ice as f a s t as th e o r ig in a l ,

i t r a i s e s th e p i tc h an octave and makes th e tempo tw ice as

f a s t . T h is p rocedu re produces a s p e c ia l sound q u a l i ty and

i s a ls o u s e f u l f o r p roducing d i f f i c u l t te c h n ic a l p assag es

by re c o rd in g them a t a slow speed (3 3 /k o r 7 l / 2 i p s ) down

an o c tav e and a t h a l f tempo. A unique sound i s a ls o p ro ­

duced by p la y in g a s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls a t h a l f o r

q u a r te r sp eed .

The p i tc h and speed o f a s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may

a ls o be changed th rough th e use of a v a r ia b le speed c o n t ro l .

I f no such c o n tro l i s a v a i la b le , o r i f th e v a r ia t io n in

speed p ro v id ed by th e v a r ia b le speed c o n tro l i s to o l im ite d ,

th e c a p s ta n of th e ta p e deck may be p inched between the

thumb and f o r e f in g e r , cau sin g c o n s id e ra b le change in th e

ta p e sp eed . A nother way th e speed may be v a r ie d I s by

ap p ly in g p re s su re to th e su p p ly o r ta k e up r e e l . On some

1 3 lb id .f p . 125.

1*8

decks th e pause c o n tro l may a ls o allow f o r w e ll c o n tro l le d

speed v a r i a t io n . Except f o r & b u i l t - i n v a r ia b le speed con­

t r o l , none o f th e p ro ced u res shou ld be used e x te n s iv e ly as

th e y may damage th e ta p e deck b e in g u sed .

One p o s s ib le sound e f f e c t which i s produced by v a r ia b le

speed c o n t ro l i s d is c u sse d in an a r t i c l e in th e December,

1973* is s u e o f Audio m agazine, c a l le d 11'P h a s in g 1 in Tape

R ecord ing” by Herman B u r s te in .1^ Phasing as d e sc r ib e d by

B u rs te in may in v o lv e th e use of two ta p e d eck s, one f e a tu r in g

s e le c t iv e s y n c h ro n iz a tio n . A s e t of m u sica l m a te r ia ls i s

dubbed on to a b lan k channel on th e deck which o f f e r s s e le c ­

t i v e s y n c h ro n iz a tio n . Then, u s in g th e s e le c t iv e sy n ch ro n iza­

t i o n p ro c e d u re , th e same s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls I s reco rd ed

in sy n c h ro n iz a tio n w ith th e f i r s t , b u t du ring t h i s p ro cess i s

a l t e r n a t e l y speeded up and slowed down, causing th e two s e ts

of th e same m u sica l m a te r ia ls to come p e r io d ic a l ly in and

ou t o f phase w ith each o th e r .

Tape Echo

Tape echo i s produced by u t i l i z i n g th e tim e d e la y

caused by s e p a ra te re c o rd and p layback h ead s . I t i s ach ieved

in th e fo llo w in g m anner. The l in e in p u t of a g iven channel

on a ta p e deck hav ing s e p a ra te reco rd and p layback heads i s

”s p l i t ” w ith a Y -type co n n e c to r , p ro v id in g two p o s s ib le

in p u ts to th e ch a n n e l. The l in e ou tp u t o f the channel i s

11 s p l i t ” in th e same way. The ou tpu t from th e s y n th e s iz e r

^H erm an B u rs te in , " 'P h a s in g ' in Tape R eco rd ing ,"Audio, V ol. 57 , No. 12 (December, 1973), pp. 1̂+ and 56.

■1*9

(o r a n o th e r ta p e deok) i s connected to one of th e l in e in p u ts

on th e ch an n e l. One o f th e l in e o u tp u ts o f th e channel i s

connected to th e e x te r n a l a m p lif ie r and th e o th e r l in e ou tpu t

i s con n ected to th e rem ain ing l in e in p u t o f th e channel

i t s e l f . The channel i s s e t to re c o rd and th e m on ito r fu n c ­

t io n s sw itc h o f th e ch an n el i s s e t t o Tape. The Record and

P lay c o n t ro ls on th e deck a re th e n s im u lta n e o u s ly engaged.

When th e s ig n a l i s re co rd ed on ta p e , i t i s m on ito red a t th e

p lay b ack head and fe d back on i t s e l f . I t i s th en re c o rd e d ,

p la y ed back a g a in , fe d back on i t s e l f , e t c . The re c o rd in g

and p layback le v e ls o f th e channel should be s e t a t low

enough le v e ls so th ey do n o t c r e a te feedback which grows

(su ch feed b ack , which cou ld damage th e ta p e deck , may be

s to p p ed by tu rn in g down th e re c o rd in g le v e l knob). The

speed o f th e echo i s d e term ined by th e ta p e speed and th e

d is ta n c e betw een th e re c o rd and p layback head s ta c k s .

Tape echo may a ls o be used w ith more th a n one ch an n e l.

A ll th e ch an n e ls to be used should have t h e i r l in e In p u ts and

o u tp u ts " s p l i t ” w ith Y -type c o n n e c to rs . One of th e l in e o u t­

p u ts from each channel shou ld be connected to an e x te rn a l

a m p l i f ie r . The o u tp u t from th e s y n th e s iz e r should th en be

connected to th e l in e Inpu t o f th e channel which I s to be

h ea rd f i r s t . The rem ain ing o u tp u t of th a t channel should be

connected to a l in e in p u t on an o th e r ch an n el, th e rem ain ing

o u tp u t o f t h i s channel connected to th e l in e in p u t o f an o th e r

ch a n n e l, and so f o r th . The l in e ou tpu t of th e l a s t channel

b e in g used may be connected back in to th e l in e in p u t o f any

5o

of th e c h a n n e ls , com pleting a feedback c i r c u i t . I f th e

feedback c i r c u i t i s n o t oom pleted, th e number of echos which

occu r w i l l be one le s s th a n th e number of channels being

u se d . Each channel should th e n be s e t to be reco rd ed and

s e t t o be m o n ito red from th e ta p e . I f th e feedback c i r c u i t

i s com pleted , th e re c o rd in g and p layback le v e ls must be s e t

low enough to av o id damaging th e ta p e deck w ith feed b ack .

The Record and P lay c o n tro ls a re th en engaged and th e s ig n a l

frcm th e s y n th e s iz e r in tro d u c e d , producing echo . I f fo u r

ch an n e ls a re used f o r ta p e echo , d u rin g p layback th rough a

d i s c r e t e fo u r channel p layback system th e echos w i l l each

o ccu r a t a d i f f e r e n t sp e a k e r . Once th e ta p e echo p rocedure

I s com ple te , th e r e s u l t in g tap e may be used w ith th e v a rio u s

te c h n iq u e s a l re a d y d is c u s s e d , such as sound r e v e r s a l , v a r ia ­

t i o n in ta p e speed , e t c .

Tape Loops

A ta p e loop i s a le n g th of reco rd ed tap e whose ends

a re s p l ic e d to g e th e r , form ing a con tinuous lo o p . I t may be

used to p la y such m a te r ia ls as re p e a tin g o s t in a to p a t te r n s

o r v a r io u s sequences of sounds. To p la y a ta p e lo o p , th e

loop shou ld be p la c e d betw een th e cap s tan and cap stan r o l l e r ,

around th e ta p e g u id e s , and a c ro ss th e tap e h ead s . Depending

on th e s iz e o f th e lo o p , i t may a ls o be p laced around a p a i r

o f empty ta p e r e e l s on th e sp in d le s of th e tap e deck . A

c e r t a in amount o f te n s io n must be m ain ta ined on a loop fo r

i t to flow sm oothly th rough th e tap e t r a n s p o r t mechanism.

T his may be p rov ided by a h an d -h e ld pen o r p e n c il around

5 1

which th e loop f lo w s , o r by a s p e c ia l ly d esig n ed loop h o ld e r

which may be a d ju s te d to th e s iz e o f a g iven lo o p . T r y th a l l

su g g e s ts th a t th e te n s io n f o r long loops may be p ro v id ed by

w eigh ted m icrophone s tan d s which can be moved to a d ju s t f o r

th e s iz e of th e lo o p .15 Once th e te n s io n i s a d ju s te d so th e

loop i s h e ld f irm ly in p la c e bu t may s t i l l flow f r e e ly , th e

P lay c o n tro l on th e ta p e deck i s engaged. The ca p s ta n w i l l

move th e loop a c ro ss th e ta p e heads w hile th e supply an d /o r

ta k e up r e e l s sp in f r e e ly . I f d e s ir e d , new m a te r ia ls may be

rec o rd ed on a loop w h ile i t i s in o p e ra t io n .

One p o s s ib le e f f e c t produced w ith a ta p e loop i s

c r e a te d by u s in g th e loop w ith two ta p e d eck s . A p re -re c o rd e d

loop i s th re a d e d a c ro s s th e heads and between th e c a p s ta n and

c a p s ta n r o l l e r o f bo th d eck s. I t i s th en p layed back on one

deck and t h a t p layback i s reco rd ed back on to th e loop th rough

th e o th e r deck . T h is c r e a te s a feedback c i r c u i t which causes

a r a p id d e g e n e ra tio n o f th e p re - re c o rd e d m a te r ia l s . This

d e g e n e ra tio n r e s u l t s In an e n t i r e l y new s e t of sound m ater­

i a l s .

^ T r y t h a l l , P r in c ip le s and P ra c t ic e o f E le c tro n ic M usic, p . 127#

IV. TECHNIQTJFS FOR THE SPATIAL PLACEMENT and MOveMen^ W SlffAL'MffftlALg

F a c to r3 In v o lv in g th e S p a t ia l Placement anfr Movement of M usical M a te r ia ls

W ith th e u se o f a quadraphonic ta p e deck and a d i s ­

c r e t e fo u r channel p layback system , m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be

p la c e d a t p o in ts o r moved around a l i s t e n e r . However, a

number o f f a c to r s may determ ine th e s p a t i a l placem ent o r

movement o f th e m u sica l m a te r ia ls b e s id e s th e m a n ip u la tio n

o f th e m u sica l m a te r ia ls d u rin g th e ta p in g p ro c e s s . These

In c lu d e th e a c o u s t ic a l c h a r a t e r l s t l c s o f th e l i s t e n in g room,

th e p lacem ent o f th e sp eak ers in th e l i s t e n in g room, th e

q u a l i ty and ty p e of sp eak ers be ing u sed , th e placem ent of

th e l i s t e n e r , and th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of th e m usica l m a te r­

i a l s th e m se lv e s .

S ince i t i s u s u a l ly Im p ra c tic a l to a l t e r a l i s t e n in g

room, th e p lacem ent of th e sp eak ers and th e l i s t e n e r In th e

l i s t e n i n g room I s o f c o n s id e ra b le im portance. In an

a r t i c l e about fo u r-c h a n n e l s te r e o p layback , R obert B erkov itz

p re s e n ts a diagram which shows th e b e s t lo c a tio n s f o r l i s ­

te n in g to fo u r channel a c o u s t i c - f i e ld re c o rd in g s . He a ls o

s t a t e s :

The arrangem ent hav ing th e la r g e s t e f f e c t iv e l i s ­te n in g a re a f o r such re c o rd in g s I s a sq u are , as la rg e as can be a rran g ed in a g iven room, p re fe ra b ly w ith th e sp eak er system s n ea r th e c o m e rs , fo r b e s t

52

53

channel s e p a ra t io n and d i r e c t io n a l accu racy .1 6

F ig u re 12 in c lu d es diagram s s im ila r to th o se B erk o v itz in ­

cluded in h i s a r t i c l e . 1? In F igure 12b, th e fo u r speakers

a

F ig . 1 2 .—Diagrams showing id e a l l i s t e n e r p lacem ent f o r two and fo u r channel p layback .

a c tu a l ly f u n c t io n in p a i r s . The a re a where th e c r i t i c a l

l i s t e n i n g a re a s of th e fo u r " p a ir s " of sp eak ers co in c id e i s

where a l i s t e n e r shou ld be lo c a te d fo r optimum accu racy in

th e s p a t i a l placem ent o f m u sica l m a te r ia l s .

A c o u s t ic - f ie ld re c o rd in g s a re in ten d ed to g ive a r e a l ­

i s t i c re p ro d u c tio n of l iv e m u sica l e v e n ts , in c lu d in g th e

s p a t i a l placem ent o r movement of v a r io u s sounds du ring such

e v e n ts . When fo u r d i s c r e te channels a re in v o lv ed , th e r e a r

ch an n els a re supposed to rep roduce th e sound p resence (such

as room re v e rb e r a t io n ) h ea rd from behind the l i s t e n e r ,

th e r e fo r e adding to th e r e a l is m of th e re p ro d u c tio n . Berko-

v i t z s t a t e s th a t a l i s t e n in g room ten d s to absorb h igh f r e -ftq u en c les more th a n m iddle or low f r e q u e n c i e s .0 T h e re fo re ,

^ R o b e r t B e rk o v itz , "Four-Channel S te re o ," The Gramo­phone, XLVIII (November, 1970), pp. 868 and 073.

17 lb ld . , p . 873

l8 I b id .

5k

f o r c o r r e c t re p ro d u c tio n of a c o u s tic f i e l d r e c o rd in g s , th e

t r e b l e sh o u ld be s l i g h t l y b o o sted d u rin g p lay b ack . However,

in s i t u a t i o n s where s p a t i a l placem ent i s produced a r t i f i ­

c i a l l y in th e f i r s t p la c e , th e re i s no need fo r such a t r e b le

b o o s t .

The ty p e of sp eak ers to be used f o r quadraphonic sound

re p ro d u c tio n i s th e s u b je c t o f an a r t i c l e by Benjam in Bauer

in th e M arch, 1973> is s u e of Audio magazine .^9 Bauer p r e f e r s

d i r e c t i o n a l o r s e m i- d ir e c t io n a l speakers to o m n id ire c tio n a l

sp e ak e rs because o m n id ire c tio n a l sp eak ers p laced n e a r w a lls

o r c o rn e rs produce r e f l e c t i o n s which em phasize some f r e ­

q u en c ies w h ile t o t a l l y c a n c e ll in g o th e r s . A ccording to

B auer, o m n id ire c tio n a l sp eak ers a ls o produce a more l im ite d

a re a o f quadraphon ic p e rc e p tio n th an do s e m l-d lre c t lo n a l and

d i r e c t i o n a l speakers .2 ° B e rk o v itz a ls o s t a t e s t h a t sp eak ers

o f a r e f l e c t i n g ty p e may c r e a te d i r e c t io n a l Images which a re

n o t p a r t o f th e program m a t e r i a l .21 However, th e ty p e of

sp e ak e r w hich b e s t s u i t s a g iv en quadraphonic l i s t e n in g s i t ­

u a t io n a ls o depends to a la rg e degree on th e o th e r f a c to r s

l i s t e d above*

The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e m u sica l m a te r ia ls them­

s e lv e s may determ ine th e d is ta n c e a g iven sound may appear

to be from th e l i s t e n e r . A lso , th e c h a r a c te r i s t i c s of th e

^B e n jam in B. B auer, "Quadraphony Needs D ire c t io n a l L o u d sp eak ers ," Audio, V o l. $7# No. 3 (March, 1973)# PP« 22- 30.

20l b l d . , p . 30*

2 lR obert B e rk o v itz , "Four-C hannel S te re o ," p . 873#

55

m u sic a l m a te r ia ls may h e lp th e l i s t e n e r Judge th e v e lo c i ty

o f a g iv en s o u n d s movement th rough th e D oppler e f f e c t as

w e ll a s by th e r a t e o f s h i f t in th e so u n d 's ap p a ren t p o s i ­

t i o n . These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a re d isc u sse d in John M. Chown-

lng*s a r t i c l e "The S im u la tio n o f Moving Sound S o u rces ,"

J o u rn a l o f th e Audio E ng ineering S o c ie ty , Vol. 19# No. 1

(Ja n u a ry , 1971)* pp . 2 -3 .

The S p a t ia l P lacem ent and Movement o f M usical M a te r ia ls tta rin g th e R ecording P rocess

W ith th e use of a quadraphonic ta p e deck , m u sica l

m a te r ia l s may be p la c e d a t p o in ts o r moved around a l i s t e n e r

i n a ru d im en ta ry m anner. T his may be accom plished as

fo l lo w s .

As I s seen In F ig u re 13* th e fo u r channels of a quad­

rap h o n ic p layback system can be co n s id e red to form fo u r

p a i r s , each o f which covers a fo u r th of th e t o t a l 3&0 degrees

around a l i s t e n e r . The p o in t a t which a g iven s e t o f

F ig . 1 3 .—Four channels a c t in g as p a i r s to cover a 36O degree a r e a .22

22'phese diagram s a re s im i la r to some in c lu d ed in R obert B e rk o v itz , "Four Channel S te re o ," p . 673.

56

m a te r ia l s i s t o be p la c e d in r e l a t i o n to th e l i s t e n e r should

be d e te rm in ed . The s ig n a l from th e s y n th e s iz e r i s th e n con­

n e c te d to th e l i n e in p u ts of th e p a i r o f channels on th e

ta p e deck t h a t co rresp o n d to th e speakers which encompass

t h i s p o in t . The re c o rd in g le v e ls of th e two channels on th e

ta p e deck a re th e n b a lan ced to p la c e th e sound a t th e

d e s i r e d p o in t between th e sp eak ers ( th i s may ta k e some ex p er­

im e n ta t io n ) , Qttce th e b a lan ce i s s e t , th e incoming s ig n a l

i s reco rd ed on th e two c h a n n e ls . I f a sound I s to be p laced

in one o f th e " c o rn e rs 11 o f th e 360 degree a re a around th e

l i s t e n e r , th e s ig n a l i s reco rd ed on th e one channel which

co rresp o n d s t o th e sp e a k e r in th e d e s ire d " c o r n e r ,"

As p re v io u s ly m entioned , th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( in c lu d in g

tim b re , d e n s i ty , t e x tu r e , a r t i c u l a t i o n , p i t c h , and volume) o f

a s e t o f m u sica l m a te r ia ls may a ls o determ ine th e success

w ith which th e m u sica l m a te r ia ls may be p laced a t p o in ts

around a l i s t e n e r , W hile a c l e a r ly a r t i c u l a t e d sim ple so n o r­

i t y m ight be s u c c e s s fu l ly p la c e d , a complex group of r a p id ly

changing s o n o r i t i e s hav in g a th ic k te x tu r e m ight n o t be

p laced as e a s i l y . T h e re fo re , th e placem ent o f any g iven

sound can on ly be determ ined th rough e x p e rim e n ta tio n .

The te c h n iq u e f o r moving m u sica l m a te r ia ls around a

l i s t e n e r a ls o u se s th e fo u r channels in p a i r s . The s ig n a l

t o be moved I s connected to th e l in e In p u ts o f a l l fo u r

ch an n e ls on th e ta p e deck . The re c o rd in g le v e ls of a l l th e

channels but th e one which co rresponds to th e speaker where

th e sound i s to be i n i t i a l l y h ea rd are tu rn e d o f f . The

re c o rd in g le v e l o f t h i s I n i t i a l channel i s s e t a t a d e s ire d

l e v e l . Then, a l l fo u r channels b eg in re c o rd in g . The sound

i s moved from th e i n i t i a l channel to an a d ja c e n t channel

by g ra d u a l ly in c re a s in g th e re c o rd in g le v e l o f th e a d ja c e n t

ch an n e l and a t th e seme tim e d e c re a s in g th e re c o rd in g le v e l

o f th e i n i t i a l ch an n e l, u n t i l th e i n i t i a l channel i s tu rn e d

o f f and th e re c o rd in g l e v e l o f th e a d ja c e n t channel i s a t

th e d e s ire d l e v e l . T his p ro cess i s re p e a te d w ith th e

rem ain in g c h a n n e ls , th e s ig n a l b e in g moved from one channel

t o th e n e x t , u n t i l i t h as moved com plete ly around th e l i s ­

t e n e r . The s ig n a l may a ls o be moved back and f o r th between

ch an n e ls in t h i s m anner, e i t h e r between one of th e fo u r

p a i r s o f ch an n e ls o r a c ro s s th e l i s t e n e r from th e l e f t f ro n t

ch an n e l to th e r i g h t r e a r channel o r th e r i g h t f ro n t channel

to th e l e f t r e a r ch an n e l.

Because th e p ro cess o f p la c in g sound a t p o in ts around

a l i s t e n e r , o r moving sound around a l i s t e n e r , Invo lves th e

changing o f th e re c o rd in g le v e ls o f a t l e a s t two channels a t

once , th e number of sounds which may be reco rd ed and p laced

a n d /o r moved a t one tim e i s q u ite l im i te d . I f th e re co rd in g

le v e ls o f a l l fo u r channels were l e f t open and th e sounds were

moved from channel to channel th rough th e use o f e x te rn a l

m ixing o r panning d e v ic e s , s e v e ra l sounds could be reco rded

and moved a t once. One such d e v ic e , known as th e S t i r r e r , i s

d isc u sse d in d e t a i l by Lowell Cross in Source m ag azin e .23

23Lowell C ro ss, "The S t i r r e r , " S ource. Music of the Avant G arde, Vol. 2 , No. 2 ( J u ly , 196BJ, pp. £5-28.

58

O ther d ev ices fo r b o th moving and p la c in g sounds a re d i s ­

cu ssed by A llen S tran g e in h i s book E le c tro n ic Music

2^A llen S tra n g e , E le c tro n ic M usic, pp, 72-73 and 75-85.

V. SUMMARY

The te c h n iq u e s which have been d isc u sse d In t h i s mono­

g rap h p ro v id e r e l a t i v e l y new ways to m an ip u la te and o rgan ize

m u s ic a l m a te r ia l s e l e c t r o n i c a l ly . A ll of th e tech n iq u es a re

f a c to r s w hich shou ld be co n s id e red du rin g th e co m p o sitio n a l

p ro c e s s in th e same way th a t t im b re , ran g e , and te c h n ic a l

l im i ta t io n s o f c o n v e n tio n a l In s tru m en ts a re co n s id ered d u rin g

th e co m p o sitio n o f n o n -e le c tro n lc m usic. With a m astery of

th e s e te c h n iq u e s , th e composer w i l l re co g n ize bo th the te c h ­

n i c a l l im i ta t io n s o f th e te ch n iq u e s as w e ll as t h e i r in h e r ­

en t p o t e n t i a l . The composer may th e n be f r e e to c r e a te ,

o rg a n iz e , and develop h is m u sica l id e as in a m eaningful way,

end i s r e s t r i c t e d o n ly by h is own im a g in a tio n .

59

BIBLIOGRAPHY

B auer, Benjamin B. "Quadraphony Needs D ir e c t io n a l Loud­s p e a k e rs . " Audio. V ol. 57 , No. 3 (March, 1973),PP. 23 -30 .

B e rk o v itz , R o b e rt. "Pour-C hannel S te re o ." The Gramophone. XLVIII (November, 1970), pp. 867- 873 .

B u r s te in , Herman. " 'P h a s in g 1 In Tape R eco rd in g ." Audio,V ol. 5 7 , No. 12 (December, 1973), pp. 5k ancT?57

C a r lo s , W alter and Folkraan, Benjam in. "M ulti-T rack R ecording in E le c tro n lo M usic." E le c tro n ic Music Review, VI (A p r i l , 1968), pp. 20 -2?:

Chowning, John M. "The S im u la tio n of Moving Sound S o u rc es ." J o u rn a l o f th e Audio E n g in eerin g S o c ie ty , Vol. 19.No; T ~ P a n u a ry , 1971), pp.~2=F. ------------

C ro ss , L ow ell. "The S t i r r e r . " S ource, Music o f th e Avant G arde , V ol. 2 , No. 2 ( J u ly , 1 9 oB), pp. §5-20 .

E l l i s , M e r r i l l . "Muslque C oncrete a t Home." The ArmedF o rces Song F o lio Music Book, Vol. XXV, Nos. 9 and 10 , pp . 3B-39.

M a rtin , M ichael B. "Tape Perform ance and Tape R ecorder B ia s in g ." S te re o Review, V ol. 32, No. li (A p r i l ,197k)» PP.

Modugno, Anne and Palm er, C h a rle s . Tape C o n tro l In E lec - t r o n ic M usic. Vernon, C o n n e c tic u t: E le c tro n icMusic L a b o ra to r ie s , I n c . , P. 0 . Box H, 06066.

P ersoon , Andrew H. " S p lic in g T ap es ." Audio, V ol. $k* No. 1 (Jan u a ry , 1970), pp. 28-29.

Q u ad rad la l S te re o T apecorder TC-851l-lu Owner's I n s t r u c t io n M anual. Sony C o rp o ra tio n , Japan.

Revox M anual, Tape R ecorder Model 77A. Owner's I n s t r u c t io n " M anual. P r in te d in S w itz e rla n d .

60

61

S tark* C ra ig . "Tape H o r iz o n s .n S te reo Review# V ol. 2lj., No.2 (February* 1970* p . 1291 Also"ToTT'27# Nos. 3 and Ij., p . 128 and p . 11̂ 6 re s p e c tiv e ly * and V ol. 30# No.2 (F eb ru a ry , 1973)» P. 1U2.

S tra n g e , A lle n . E le c tro n ic Music* System s. T echn iques, and C o n tro ls . bubuque# Iowa; Vfoi. 0 . Brown Company £ u b lis b e r s * 1972 .

T r y th a l l , G i lb e r t . P r in c ip le s and P ra c tic e of E le c tro n ic M usic. New Y ork: b r os s e t & f)unlap, ^tnc. # 1973.

VITA

R obert Bruce G reen lea f was born in Auburn, Alabama, on

A p ril 28 , 19^9* He a tte n d e d Auburn High School where he was

g rad u a ted in 196?* A fte r a t te n d in g Auburn U n iv e rs ity fo r

th e sc h o o l y ea r 1967-68, he t r a n s f e r r e d to F lo r id a S ta te

U n iv e r s i ty in T a l la h a s s e e , F lo r id a , where he m ajored in

c l a r in e t* He was g rad u a ted cum laude from F lo r id a S ta te

U n iv e r s i ty w ith a B achelor o f Music degree in June, 1971*

D uring h i s ju n io r and s e n io r y e a rs , he h e ld a fe llo w sh ip from

th e F lo r id a S ta te U n iv e r s i ty G raduate S chool.

Mr. G reen lea f a t te n d e d g rad u a te sch o o l a t L o u is ian a

S ta te U n iv e rs ity in Baton Rouge, L o u is ian a , where he h e ld a

N a tio n a l D efense E ducation Act F e llo w sh ip . He rec e iv e d a

M aster o f Music degree in c l a r in e t i n th e summer of 1972,

and th e D octor o f M usical A rts degree in c l a r in e t in th e

summer of 197k* During th e sp r in g sem este r of 1973» he

o rg an ized and ta u g h t th e f i r s t cou rse in e le c t ro n ic m usic

o f fe re d a t L o u is ian a S ta te U n iv e r s i ty .

Mr. G reen leaf i s c u r r e n t ly an A s s is ta n t P ro fe sso r a t

Auburn U n iv e r s i ty . He i s m arried to th e form er E liz a b e th

Ann W oodruff.

EXAMINATION AND THESIS REPORT

Candidate:

Major Field:

Title of Thesis:

Robert Bruce Greenleaf

Music

"Applied Tape Techniques for Use with Electronic Music Synthesizers1

Approved:

Major Professor and Chairm^

Dean of the Graduate School

EXAMINING COMMITTEE:

Date of Examination: